Local hopes for Reading “Tolerance”
Published on July 19th, 2006
READING, MA - A portion of Route 28 (Main Street) in Reading will soon be called ‘Tolerance Way’, if a Stoneham man is successful in his quest.
Stoneham resident Robert Sansone has petitioned the Massachusetts Legislature to officially designate the section of Route 28 from Franklin Street up to North Reading as ‘Tolerance Way’, after a unique experience his daughter had while on a recent trip to Florida.
“Have you ever been in a situation where you were a minority?” writes Sansone, while recapping the events of that day. “Statistically speaking it would be very unusual for that to happen in Stoneham if you are in the 95 percent white majority.
“Well imagine what it would be like if you were eight years old and thousands of miles away from home, and along with your younger sister (and parents) you were the only white children poolside in the middle of an African American family reunion as relatives from all over the country gathered at the Ft. Lauderdale Sheraton. That is exactly what happened to my daughter Rachel and her sister Hannah (five) last June (approx. 75 people poolside).
“How Rachel handled that situation was one of the proudest moments of my life (not just as a parent) and it really made me think long and hard about the world we live in.”
Sansone wrote a letter to State Rep. Paul Casey, Senator Richard Tisei, and Gov. Mitt Romney asking for a portion of Route 28 in Reading (from Franklin St. to the North Reading line to be renamed Tolerance Way to recognize tolerance over ignorance and to celebrate the importance of race relations.
Sansone chose Main Street in Reading for the location due to terrible racist incident that he remembered occurring there during his childhood, one that involved a hero of his, Boston Celtic legend Bill Russell, a former Reading resident.
“I started thinking about my first experience regarding people of another race that really stood out ,” writes Sansone. “It wasn't a personal experience but a story I heard as a child that made me very sad. It was about the awful hatred that former Boston Celtic legend Bill Russell faced in Boston and specifically Reading during his career in the 50's and 60's.
Bigots broke into his Reading home and put racist graffiti on his walls and defecated on his bed because of his skin color. Then when he tried to move from his home to a new home across town, some neighbors filed a petition trying to block the move.
When that failed, other neighbors banded together to try to purchase the home that Russell wanted to buy. I subsequently learned that white security guards at the Boston Garden would actually ask Mr. Russell for his identification before allowing him into the building before his Celtic games. This was after he already won two NCAA Championships for the University of San Francisco, a Gold Medal for the USA in the 1956 Olympics and NBA Championships in Boston. How humiliating!
“As you can well imagine Rachel was very disturbed by that story as were the dozens of people in Reading we visited one day at the Reading High School field and at Dandelion's on Main Street. Those people we met overwhelmingly supported our efforts and signed a petition for Tolerance Road. An email of support was also sent to the State House by Reading Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, who has been extremely cooperative throughout this process.”
The bill, known as HOUSE. No. 4971, reads as follows: “By Mr. Casey of Winchester, petition (subject to Joint Rule 12) of Robert Sansone that the Department of Highways be directed to designate Route 28 as “Glory Road” in celebration of racial harmony, diversity and tolerance. Transportation.”
The requested name of the road has since been changed to ‘Tolerance Way’ from ‘Glory Road’.
The following list shows a timeline for action on the bill thus far: 04/24/06 H Referred to the committee on House Rules -HJ 1401
05/15/06 H Reported, referred to the committee on Joint Rules, reported, rules suspended and referred to the committee on Transportation -HJ 1646
05/18/06 S Senate concurred -SJ 1754
Public Hearing date Jun 14 am at 11:00 in Room B-1
06/21/06 H Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling -HJ 1785
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