Sacramento, CA – The Greater Sacramento NAACP demands Sacramento City Unified School District investigate, identify, expel, and arrest those responsible for the racial expressions committed against African American students and teachers.
“The Greater Sacramento NAACP is disheartened by the district’s refusal to address the racist culture, and what appears to be escalating expressions of hate violence against African American students on its campuses, and condemns such behavior by students, staff, faculty and administration. Use of the N-word (or any variation of it) verbally or in writing, is a racial slur and a hate incident that will not be tolerated. Refusal to investigate these egregious acts and identify the perpetrators, at the very least is a perpetuation of systemic racism that erodes community trust.” said GSNAACP’s president, Betty Williams.
Two incidents took place within days of each other. The first incident happened at C.K. McClatchy High School where one of the water fountains were labeled as “colored” and the other “white.” The second incident took place at the Abraham Lincoln Elementary School where racist graffiti including the word “Nigger,” KKK and a swastika was painted on the exterior wall of the school.
‘In light of the history of terror, violence, subjugation, oppression, and systemic racism suffered by the African American community in association with the use of the “N-word,” we do not condone its use in any setting. The word conveys specific meanings in America, and the Greater Sacramento NAACP takes such signals from those who use it seriously. We demand a meeting with the Sacramento City Unified School District to plan a convening of students to provide a safe platform to discuss these incidents and find solutions to stop them altogether. We cannot continue to cover up a culture that has a long history of inflicting hate violence on African American students and teachers in the school system. We urge the district to take these acts seriously and eliminate the threats on campus that would prevent a safe and engaging environment for all staff and students,” Betty Williams said.
The Greater Sacramento NAACP submitted a letter to Superintendent Jorge Aguilar to express concerns regarding the incident at C.K. McClatchy. Because of documented incidents and hate crimes at schools within SCUSD, also submitted a resolution to the California Hawaii State Conference of the NAACP, which would allow for the termination of school personnel who fail to address hate violence on school campuses in California. This bill has been introduced in the CA Legislature.
In partnership with Voice of the Youth and Black Youth Leadership Project, the Sacramento NAACP will hold a press conference, Thursday, February 17, 2022 at 2:45pm, at C.K. McClatchy High School, located at 3066 Freeport Blvd. Sacramento, CA 95818. The purpose of this press conference is to urge the district to implement culturally sensitive, intentional supports, specifically for Black students to address the trauma caused by these incidents.
Contact:
Contact: Stacey Anderson
P: (916) 289-2539
E: secnaacp1060@gmail.com
