November 8th 2023.
California teachers will now be required to complete a mandatory training program following the circulation of an online photo of a float depicting Black students in orange jumpsuits and black and white prison attire. After the photo was shared online, students from Sacramento's Bella Vista High School spoke out about how they felt.
Dominique Edwards, a member of the school's Black Student Union, said: “I felt a little bit stunned because you’re seeing a Black male in an orange suit, also handcuffed. Whose idea was this? All the cops were white students and all the robbers were students of color.”
The school district investigated the incident for about a month, after which they sent an email saying that “appropriate actions are being taken as a result of the investigation.” They asked that all of their schools districtwide ask themselves critical questions before deciding themes for future events and spirit days.
This is where student leaders such as Jayha Buhs-Jackson, who leads the Black Student Union at the school, came in. She had not been informed about the district's investigation and worries that the resolutions are nothing but “empty words, empty promises.”
Adding to the problem is the fact that the school is only 2% Black, meaning there aren't many students in leadership positions that reflect Buhs-Jackson or Edwards. Buhs-Jackson has been taking the lead on campus, helping to draft a list of potential resolutions the group sent to the school’s principal.
Edwards, a cheerleader at the school, has noticed how she is treated and feels the daggers of microaggressions. She said, “They cannot see how [their actions] affect people of color and Black people. They tend to keep us on the side and put the white people or people that are just lighter in the center.”
Other Sacramento area students say the problem of racism is not confined to Bella Vista High School. Arianne McCullough, who attends C.K. McClatchy High School, said: “There have been other racist incidents in and around Sacramento. I was more stunned that it could be so blatantly racist and also saddened for the Black boy who was inside the jail cell.” She also revealed the concept of “race laundering,” which “is the use of Black faces to peddle white supremacist ideas and causes.”
Kristian Schnepp, the assistant superintendent of the San Juan Unified School District, said: “I am going to be honest with you, this was the worst-case scenario. For us to perpetuate bias and stereotypes is the thing that I was afraid of. It is an opportunity for us to lean in and start having the conversations that needed to happen at all of our high schools.”
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
