Monkey Taunts, Slave Pranks: California School’s Racism Debacle Deepens
Racist drawings that were handed out at a California elementary school during Black History Month are just the tip of the iceberg, according to a group of parents who have filed a lawsuit against the school district, alleging that racial harassment against Black children has gone unchecked for years.
At a news conference Monday, parents demanded California’s attorney general launch an investigation into Pepper Tree Elementary in the Inland Empire suburb of Upland, local outlet ABC 7 Los Angeles reported. According to KTLA 5, families also want a teacher and assistant principal at the school fired.
“The Upland Unified School District and Pepper Tree Elementary School will now have to face the consequences of their failure,” families’ attorney James Bryant said, according to KTLA 5.
California Students Draw Horrific Racist Images for Black History Month
At the press conference, Bryant said a child from one of four families he represents received messages with website hyperlinks during classes that were held online during the COVID-19 pandemic. The child would unknowingly click on the link, which sent him to an image of a “golden N-word pass.” According to Bryant, Black students were made to sign the passes in agreement that they would be good Black students rather than behave like “the rest of the slave-like children.” Bryant did not specify who sent the student the links.
In another incident outlined during the press conference, parent Christopher Newman said his son had been called a monkey and taunted with monkey noises for months at school and on social media, NBC 4 LA reported. Newman said his son was punished with in-school suspension for handling the alleged bullying himself, but nothing happened to the students accused of the bullying.
“The evidence that was presented against [my son] was a redacted screenshot of an image that only had what he said in reply to countless images and words,” Newman said, according to ABC 7. “They said they did an investigation and they could not find any wrongdoing by the aggressor.”
Rome Douglas, a Black student at Pepper Tree, said that he had been called a monkey on multiple occasions at school, and teachers never did anything.
“Every day that I go to school is just a struggle because I know I’m going to be called a monkey,” Rome said at Monday’s press conference, according to NBC 4.
During the presser, Rome’s mother, Maylana, provided emails she had exchanged with school administrators since 2017, detailing allegations that all four of her children had been racially harassed.
Bryant alleged that two of the culprits are the child of Pepper Tree’s assistant principal and the child of a teacher, according to ABC 7.
The Upland Unified School District recently came under fire after Black students at Pepper Tree Elementary received racist drawings from classmates at the beginning of Black History Month. The drawings were fashioned into cards with vile messages, calling Black children “monkeys,” “cotton pickers,” and “slaves.”
California School District in Turmoil Over Racist Instagram Post
In a previous statement to The Daily Beast, district officials said the makeshift Black History Month cards were not part of any class activities. Administrators also apologized in a video message.
In a recent update posted on Upland Unified’s website, superintendent Lynn Carmen Day said the district is “committed to ensuring…students receive what they need to be successful.”
“The [Upland] Governing board believes the diversity in the community is integral to the district's vision and goals and is: committed to equity in opportunities and resulting outcomes to address the needs of the most marginalized learners; identifying practices, policies, and institutional barriers to eradicate bias and eliminate disparities,” the statement reads.
Neither Pepper Tree Elementary nor Upland Unified Schools immediately responded to The Daily Beast’s request for comment Tuesday.
Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.
Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
