2 North Shore Town Employees Resign, 1 Reinstated, After 'Racist' Graduation Comments

LYNNFIELD, MA — Two North Shore town employees resigned, and one employee who was found to have tried to defuse the conversation was reinstated, as Lynnfield officials said they have concluded the investigation into racist and bias language heard on the livestream of the high school graduation ceremony earlier this month.

The conversation among town employees was picked up on the stream prior to the graduation ceremony and was reportedly heard by many watching the event.

• 'Stand Together In Outrage': Racist Words Mar North Shore Graduation Livestream

"Two of the employees involved in the conversation resigned from their positions with the town," Lynnfield officials said in a statement. "It was determined that a third employee did not make any statements that were inappropriate and attempted to defuse the conversation. That third employee has been reinstated and instructed to report similar future incidents or comments to their supervisor as soon as possible."

The livestream has since been taken down , but was shared on social media among students and residents before that. According to CBS Boston, the two men talking made references to their disdain for people of other races, while the video showed people setting up the football field for the graduation.

• Lynnfield Employee Resigns After 'Hate' Words Spoken On High School Graduation Livestream

"The review of this incident has now been completed," Lynnfield officials said. "As stated at the outset, the town of Lynnfield leaders stand together in outrage over what occurred and continue to state emphatically that racist language and behavior has no place in our town, will not be tolerated, and will be dealt with immediately."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)