A week after Justice Matters’ well-attended community forum concluded with phone numbers of two local government leaders being projected onstage for a packed Lied Center audience of approximately 1,500 people, one of those leaders has spoken out about what he feels was unfair criticism leveled against him and his colleagues on the Lawrence school board by Justice Matters.

Marcel Harmon, president of the school board, published a lengthy Facebook post earlier this week expressing his concerns, some of which stemmed from “how the district’s general absence from the event,” which addressed — among other issues — equity in schools, “was portrayed to those in attendance,” he said.

Organizers of March 30’s Nehemiah Action Assembly weren’t shy in voicing their disappointment that not all local leaders — specifically, Harmon and Douglas County Commission Chair Mike Gaughan — had attended the assembly, and encouraged the approximately 1,500 people in attendance that evening to text them.

The “large numbers of texts and emails” Harmon said he received in the aftermath prompted him to release a public statement in defense of the Lawrence district and school board.

Harmon attributed his absence at the event to an out-of-town business trip, an explanation that he said he had relayed to Justice Matters representatives several weeks beforehand. He also said that his absence did not indicate a lack of care or “willingness to listen to the public,” nor did it reflect a missing “sense of urgency relative to addressing institutionalized racism.”

“The same can be said with regards to the absence of other board members, the superintendent or any other administrators,” Harmon wrote. “That should be evident in our redoubled efforts to address equity and racism, as well as listen to the public over the last several months.”

In the past few months, Harmon wrote in his statement, these efforts have included the formation of two committees devoted to equity issues, a Community Conversation on race hosted by the district in January, and the reorganization of district personnel “to better support our equity work at the district and building levels,” among other endeavors. The board also has invited Justice Matters to participate in an upcoming school board meeting.

But Justice Matters representatives on Thursday said they hadn’t told audience members at March 30’s assembly that district leaders didn’t care about equity issues. Gary Schmidt, co-chair of Justice Matters’ racial justice steering committee, said Justice Matters has recognized several aspects of the district’s ongoing equity work.

“We did not state disapproval,” Schmidt said of the message delivered at the Nehemiah conference. “It was disappointment that they didn’t have anyone there.”

Katie Sears, an associate organizer with Justice Matters, said the group decided to advertise officials’ contact information on the Lied Center stage’s screen because the crowd should have an outlet to communicate with the officials who were not there. She said the crowd was encouraged to share its disappointment that the elected leaders did not attend the event.

“But we do not intend to vilify anyone,” Sears said. “We simply want our voices to be heard.”

Harmon, in his Facebook response to last week’s event, said the school board and district administration “support the ultimate goals of Justice Matters.” He also said board members and district leaders have voiced the need for support from community partners in their efforts to address the district’s ongoing equity issues.

“But those partners must also recognize they can’t work on their own to understand the district and develop solutions that are ready for implementation — it must be an integrated and collaborative process,” Harmon wrote.

“Nor is there a need to publicly shame us or put us on the spot to publicly support addressing institutionalized racism,” he added. “We’re already there, willing to work with community partners to address it.”