'A hate crime occurred in a small town. This is how that town responded.'

Peter Blandino, The Patriot Ledger
Updated

SCITUATE − A new YouTube video features a shoreside rally for a Scituate school official who was targeted in July by whoever created a mock grave and tombstone with his name on it at a town beach.

The video is called "When Hate Tried a Small Town" and shows a gathering in support of jamele adams, the school department's diversity, equity and inclusion director.

Community organizers and adams himself responded to the incident by illuminating lanterns along the shoreline and sharing words of unity and love at a gathering Aug. 11.

The short video, produced by Skot Lindstedt, of Portland, Maine, captured the moment.

Scituate residents placed illuminated lanterns along the seashore in support of Scituate Public Schools Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director jamele adams, who was the target of a hateful message in July.
Scituate residents placed illuminated lanterns along the seashore in support of Scituate Public Schools Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director jamele adams, who was the target of a hateful message in July.

The video opens with white script on a black screen: "A hate crime occurred in a small town. This is how that town responded."

A woman's voice is then heard over an image of an American flag rippling in a strong ocean wind at Scituate Harbor.

"We must remember that hate cannot flourish in isolation, but instead it withers in the face of love," she says.

It's the voice of Scituate resident Dina Dray, who told The Patriot Ledger that she's been involved in diversity issues since 2020.

"I grew up in Scituate," she said. "I’m a woman of color. It was not always easy for me growing up here."

Scituate Public Schools Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion jamele adams.
Scituate Public Schools Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion jamele adams.

Now she's raising her two children in Scituate, where they attend the public high school. She said her kids motivate her work.

"I didn’t want them dealing with the same things that I had to deal with," Dray said. "If I could be a part of making Scituate a better place, that was my ultimate goal."

Dray told The Patriot Ledger that about 125 people gathered at the Scituate Harbor Community Building on the evening of Aug. 11.

Scituate residents placed illuminated lanterns along the seashore in support of Scituate Public Schools Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director jamele adams, who was the target of a hateful message in July.
Scituate residents placed illuminated lanterns along the seashore in support of Scituate Public Schools Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director jamele adams, who was the target of a hateful message in July.

"I was immediately overwhelmed," she said. "I didn't think there was going to be that many people. I didn't know it was going to be such a huge response. It brought tears to my eyes."

Dray said the mock grave and tombstone were left on a Scituate beach she associates with joyful childhood memories, and that the rally helped her reclaim that space after it had been desecrated by a hateful act.

"Hate can attempt to take root anywhere," she said. "But we’re not going to let it take root here. They tried it. That act of hate was a whisper compared to the chorus of resounding love that we brought."

Adams appears in the video leading the crowd in a call and response. As the sun sets, he appears in silhouette against the evening sky.

Scituate residents placed illuminated lanterns along the seashore in support of Scituate Public Schools Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director jamele adams, who was the target of a hateful message in July.
Scituate residents placed illuminated lanterns along the seashore in support of Scituate Public Schools Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director jamele adams, who was the target of a hateful message in July.

"It's possible for us to be in harmony," he says. "Ask any of these young people. They believe it's possible. We have to carry that out.

"At our best we are one family," adams concludes as the video transitions to an expansive shot of boats safely docked in Scituate Harbor. He doesn't use capital letters in his name.

Linstedt said his video is about how a particular community, Scituate, dealt with a universal problem.

"It’s something that can happen anywhere," he said. "It’s a matter of the community, and how the community responds, and Scituate responded really beautifully."

Scituate residents placed illuminated lanterns along the seashore in support of Scituate Public Schools Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director jamele adams, who was the target of a hateful message in July.
Scituate residents placed illuminated lanterns along the seashore in support of Scituate Public Schools Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director jamele adams, who was the target of a hateful message in July.

He said his goal was to "bring a lasting life to the conversation that jamele and Dina were having with the local community, and capturing it with something I can be proud of and they can be proud of."

Scituate police continue to investigate the incident. The department does not have additional information to share at this time, Deputy Chief Alison Steverman told The Patriot Ledger in an email.

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Patriot Ledger subscription. Here is our latest offer.

Reach Peter Blandino at pblandino@patriotledger.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Scituate rallies behind school official threatened with mock grave

Advertisement