A newsletter promoting an ice
cream party at the Lawrence senior center made it
clear that everyone was invited. The posters even
encouraged participants to bring their friends.
But when the event took place a few weeks ago it
was clear that everyone was not welcome.
Members of the Council on Aging handed out a
limited number of admission tickets to friends
and political supporters restricting the number
of people who could participate. Accusations of
racism and prejudice emerged because, of the 100
tickets handed out by the council members, not
one was given to an Hispanic.
What the council on aging did smacked of old
school dirty politics and is the symbol of what
is wrong with the City of Lawrence. A privileged
few pretend to care about the common man while
taking care of their friends and promoting their
own political agenda.
Hispanic elders showed up at the Lawrence senior
center expecting to participate in an ice cream
party and were turned away at the door. The only
people inside eating ice cream were white, the
only people denied access were Hispanic. If that
isn’t racism it certainly has the same
effect on a community like Lawrence. There is not
one Hispanic on the Council on Aging and it is
quite clear that one is needed now.
What’s worse, Council on Aging member
Bernice Sullivan told Hispanic seniors that they
could come in when everyone else was done and
they could have the "leftovers."
Another Council member, Mr. Stapleton, told Rumbo
"They are the ones that separates
themselves. We don’t separate anybody."
But Stapleton was the person who made the
decision not to allow Hispanics, or anyone else
without a coveted ticket into the party. He even
told Councilor Marcos Devers, "It’s the
Hispanics fault." Then he lied Tom Schiavone
from the Mayor’s Office, when he told him
that this was a private party for the volunteers
that help at the Center. It wasn’t.
The seniors of Lawrence deserve to be treated
better. No matter where they come from or what
language they speak each of our seniors should be
treated like gold. The Council on aging members
consider themselves a privileged bunch who are
better than everyone else because they suck up to
whoever the front runner is in every mayoral
election. They promise to deliver senior votes
and play more shenanigans than anyone could
imagine. They have no loyalty to anyone but
themselves and should be shamed into resigning
from their posts.
But that takes integrity, and this crew
doesn’t seem to have any. The new Lawrence
Mayor, whomever he is, must take a hard stand
against the abuse of our elders and remove dirty
politics from senior services at the center. What
we need are caring people to donate their time
and efforts to making the quality of life better
for all senior citizens. There are plenty of
people, young and old who would love to serve on
that board, bring in some new ideas and put the
concerns of our elders ahead of the politics of
others.
I am pleading with every mayoral candidate this
year to appoint new people with vision and
understanding to the Council on Aging. Please
make it a priority within the first few months of
taking office. The seniors in this city depend on
your leadership. Please show that you care and
provide the leadership so badly needed.
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