Tay Anderson’s Sunday evening that he would “step back from everyday board functions” is a minuscule step in the right direction, but it’s not enough. It’s not nearly enough.
In a released by DPS in its never ending Sunday night debacle, Anderson will still hold all voting privileges and will vote on the new superintendent June 3rd. Alex , a former interim superintendent in New Rochelle School District, is expected to be voted in as superintendent. Marrero is himself the subject of a lawsuit that alleges on behalf of a former employee in the district of New Rochelle, New York.
What this says to the alleged victims of Tay Anderson, all 62 of them, is that so far, Tay Anderson and DPS have done very little to foster a safe environment for students. For child victims of sexual assault, the fact that their abuser retains voting privileges on the subject of who will lead their school district into the next troubled decade speaks volumes. His voice matters more than theirs.
Are there more Anderson victims? Who knows? Why would they speak when their abuser has gone unscathed and retains voting rights and school board privileges. He’s still someone with power over their lives.
As revealed on a Sunday evening radio show on KNUS, hosted by , minor children first began coming to Mary Katherine Brooks Fleming in June of 2020, scared and asking for protection from Tay Anderson, who has allegedly assaulted or raped at least 62 minor children, one male and 61 females. All but one of the children are undocumented immigrants or Dreamers, and all are allegedly terrified of Anderson. According to Fleming, one victim came to her looking for help and could barely walk due to the trauma sustained by Anderson’s rape. As the summer stretched on, more victims came forward.
One of the reasons this page has focused heavily on Anderson over the last year is that his politics are dangerous for Colorado and any other state. People who entire towns and governments under the guise of any cause, whether just or not, should not be politically revered. In June, Anderson threatened the city of Stapleton that if if neighbors didn’t change the name, he would orchestrate a “march.”
Threatening entire towns of innocent people cannot be the standard of how elected officials accomplish change. Stapleton did change its name to . In hindsight, which many could have guessed, this name change did not have any effect on racism.
Anderson also obstructed a police homeless sweep in July. After falling to the ground during the scuffle, he was injured by police brutality and briefly mentioned a lawsuit against DPD. He later held a press conference where he proclaimed, “city of Denver, you have fucked with the .”
Anderson behaves as if he’s the only man in the room; and that behavior could not be more evident at present. He has famously advocated for immigrant rights, called those who don’t support unabridged immigration “racists,” and he’s also supported the #metoo movement. If he believes that victims’ rights matter, then he should resign.
One rape is too many rapes. One allegation is just that…an allegation. Anderson, however, has sixty-two allegations. Those are too many victims to not believe. As a school district, a city, and a society, who are we if someone is accused of raping children, leaving children in stitches, and we allow that person to retain power in his role? In doing so, the power of the victims is clearly diminished. Any hope of the already ICE-fearing victims to press charges or testify is further crushed when they learn that their abuser is still making decisions that impact their daily lives. Their abuser is still valued as a voting member of their educational institution, and the elected officials surrounding him have not advocated for those victims at all; they’ve turned a blind eye to them.
Anderson’s politics have always been dangerous; calling all white people racist and pinning every mass shooting on white people as a matter of fact is as harmful to equality as the KKK. Since DPS has always been complacent if not encouraging of Anderson’s South Side politics, his style has never been handled or groomed.
While Tay, unequipped, needed another ten to fifteen years of political grooming before being thrust into the school board role by his financiers, the public may have forgiven some of his aggressive politics. The public, though, isn’t likely to forget allegations of 62 sexual assaults.
Anderson himself seems eager to forget the allegations and cannot possibly fathom how they exist. Would a non-abuser want to be in a position of power over children’s educational outcomes, a position with supposedly no financial yield, if any children felt unsafe by his presence and were scared of him?
Caring about the safety and well-being of kids should be paramount to the intentions of anyone who works in a school system. Kids come before politics, ego, and elected roles. There are 62 kids who claim to be scared of one man, and that man needs to go. No voting privileges…just go.
~Irma Rovva
