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Somerville Human Rights Commission Statement on Anti-Muslim Hate Incident at Somerville High School Grounds on January 20th, 2026

Dear Somerville Community,

On January 20th, 2026, during a student walk out for immigrant rights, there was a hostile anti-Muslim hate speech incident on Somerville High School grounds against a Muslim teacher, who was present to ensure the safety of our Somerville High School students. A video of this hostile incident was widely circulated on social media, including the perpetrator’s public account (where more anti-muslim speech occurred) and the Somerville Community Facebook page.Anti-Muslim hate has no place in Somerville, and we, the Somerville Human Rights Commission, condemn all forms of anti-Muslim hate and anti-immigrant hate and its presence anywhere. We recognize how this anti-Muslim incident harmed our students, this teacher and our Muslim neighbors. We recognize the increase in anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiments and actions in the last few years with this current federal administration. Furthermore, we acknowledge the intersection of anti-Muslim hate and anti-immigrant hate which is clear with the federal government targeting Muslim-majority countries and Muslim immigrants through travel bans, ICE activity, and other discriminatory policies and actions. In Somerville, we saw this with the abduction of Rümeysa Öztürk, a Somerville resident and Muslim international Tufts student, by masked ICE agents on March 28th, 2025. We condemn ICE’s activity in Somerville and all kidnappings of our neighbors.

The urgency around protecting our Somerville Muslim and immigrant communities, including our teachers and students, is more important than ever given the current federal administration’s discriminatory actions and increase of hostility against Muslims and immigrants that has arisen from this political climate. The Somerville Human Rights Commission pledges to hold a public training and education event on anti-Muslim hate this calendar year to educate our community on anti-Muslim hate and how to support our Muslim community in Somerville. Furthermore, the HRC has submitted a request to SHS to ban the identified individual, who committed this act of hate speech, from SHS grounds in order to ensure the safety of all Muslim and immigrant students, teachers, and staff. Additionally, the commission will continue outreach to engage in supportive collaboration with our local community organizations that are supporting our immigrant and Muslim neighbors. We are in direct contact with the City of Somerville Mayor’s office, City Council, and Racial Social Justice investigator regarding this incident and will continue to strongly advocate and push for concrete actions in ensuring the safety for our Muslim and immigrant communities.

Sincerely,
Somerville Human Rights Commission

The Somerville Human Rights Commission was recently reactivated when a quorum of seats were filled in mid-2025. The Somerville Human Rights Commission endeavors to protect the constitutional, civil, and human rights of all people in Somerville. We strive to end discrimination and promote universal access to basic needs, improved quality of life, mutual understanding, and elevated public discourse. If you have any concerns regarding violations of human rights, we encourage you to reach out to the HRC via email at somervillema.hrc@gmail.com.