10-year-old who spoke to Redmond City Council about racism he’s experienced draws support from community

(Update: Adding video, comments from Redmond School District, Gavin Alston and family)

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A recent, disturbing hate crime in Redmond brought a large crowd to the City Council meeting last Tuesday night to support the mayor and a Black city councilor who were the targets, and to decry racism. But a 10-year-old fourth-grader made clear that the problem is more pervasive than many would like to think.

10-year-old Gavin Alston went to the microphone, reading from a handwritten statement and said that even when black people are showing respect, “we still get treated like crap.”

Gavin said he “felt like I belonged” at the school he attended in third grade, but now, in the fourth grade, “a lot of people have been calling me the N-word, or a monkey – even Black boy. One girl even said, ‘I would hit you, but that’s called animal abuse.”

“We should not get treated like this,” the youngster said, drawing applause when he finished speaking – and this time, Fitch didn’t admonish the crowd for doing so, saying instead that it was okay.

Over the weekend, NewsChannel 21 was able to talk with the Alston family, including Gavin, about what's been transpiring this past year at school. "Some people will call me (Gavin) gorilla or chimpanzee," he said.

We brought the issue to Dr. Charan Cline, the Redmond School District superintendent. "With Gavin's family, we've been working with him since December on some of these issues. So we're a little surprised to see this come out publicly."

James Alston is Gavin's father. He told us on Sunday, "All we want to do is just bring light and let people know it's going on, and it's not right."

Heather, Gavin's mother, also said her daughter faced similar issues: "When we moved here, my daughter was being called the N-word. Then, every time she would walk past a certain somebody, they would make monkey noises at her."

In December, Gavin's parents notified school officials he was being bullied verbally.

The Redmond School District says after the incident was reported, the students involved received counseling.  

School counselors visited each classroom for lessons about tolerance with anti-bully messaging.

James Alston expounded on his family's experience in Redmond so far.

"The crimes are less here, but the racism is bigger here. So, it's kind of weird, but it makes sense, because there isn't a lot of black people here anyway. And then, most of the black people that's here, they're just passing through. Then once they found out you live here, it goes from 'Hi' to, 'What is he doing?'"

The superintendent replied to the father's concerns: "It's a pretty common part of being in school. Students have to learn how to behave in a civilized way, if you will. We have harassment issues really with all races at one time or another. And it's about helping people learn how to get along and learn how to work with other folks."

This year, the Redmond School District had implemented curriculum for students aimed at discouraging bullying and harassment.

"Character Strong is a curriculum that really works on emphasizing character traits. Things like empathy, and courage and that sort of work. We usually do kind of a monthly work on that, students are acknowledged for their great work" Dr. Cline told us.

It was 10-year-old Gavin's idea to speak in front of Redmond City Council after a racist note and dead raccoon were left outside the law office of mayor Ed Fitch earlier this month.

In doing so, he has earned respect among many in the community.

Redmond School District Public information Officer Holly Brown told us she's proud of Gavin for speaking up about his experience: "That's just a huge thing for a fourth-grader to do, so we're all really proud of him. And we really want to be able to work with all families and create that inclusive environment that we strive for, and that's a part of our mission statement."

Gavin says he was proud to have spoke in front of city councilors: "I felt great, because everyone was like 'Good speech!' and just, shaking my hand. And I just felt good about it."

We asked the school district what disciplinary action is taken when racist remarks are made.

A spokesperson tells us it's handled on a case-by-case basis.

Last Tuesday marked the council's first public comment period since a dead raccoon and intimidating note targeting Mayor Ed Fitch and City Councilor Clifford Evelyn, the only Black person on the council, were left at the front door of Fitch's law office earlier this month. Police are still looking for the culprit.

“Redmond will not, I repeat will not be the city recognized by hate and discrimination, but instead for a family-friendly environment for all the citizens who live, work and visit here," Evelyn said. "It's time to move forward, because we have work to do."

While Evelyn thanked the many who had written and showed up in support of him, the mayor and councilors and to speak out against racism, he also said the incident was just the latest sign that no matter what many want to believe, “systematic racism is alive and well in certain pockets of Redmond and Central Oregon.”

You can watch his and others' comments in the video posted on the city council meeting page.