Racist social media posts shared among Bexley students, superintendent says
Bexley City Schools Superintendent Jason Fine said Thursday that he and other district officials had been made aware of racist social media posts that were apparently created in January and have since been shared among students.
This comes less than a week after a racist image was shown behind two middle school students on a green screen background as they gave morning announcements. The image shown at Bexley Middle School on Feb. 3 — of an orangutan eating a watermelon, a racist trope created by Southern whites after the Civil War to dehumanize newly-freed Black Americans — appeared on the screen after a fact about Black History Month was shared.
An internal investigation is underway into how the image was selected and placed in the daily presentation, according to Fine, and the teacher involved in overseeing the presentation has been placed on administrative leave.
In a message to school parents and guardians, Fine said Thursday that racist social media posts are circulating not just among the district's students but "more widely in our Bexley School community."
"When we learn of unacceptable actions allegedly committed by our students, we respond immediately, we investigate, and we apply the appropriate reaction based on our Board of Education policies. And then we do not talk about student consequences publicly," Fine said.
Creating safe spaces for students in Bexley
Fine, who became Bexley City Schools' superintendent in July 2021, said since the racist image was shown during announcements, students have asked school officials to create spaces where they can share their feelings and concerns. He said the district has tried to do so.
"We make this strong appeal to any family whose children are feeling unsafe, for any reason: Please reach out to us. Contact a school counselor, administrator, teacher, staff member or any trusted adult," Fine said. "We will set up individual meetings with families to understand what’s needed, so we can offer proper support."
Fine also said the district is continuing to offer support to students using school counselors and is exploring whether to make additional mental health resources available.
"Our challenges are growing by the day. So is our determination to meet them," he said.
More:What it’s like to live in Bexley while Black: one family’s story
Enraged parents and guardians attended Wednesday's school board meeting, with some threatening legal action against the district if the teacher who supervises the middle school's morning announcements is not fired.
Other parents said this wasn't the first time racism had reared its ugly head in Bexley. In the wake of George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, students from Bexley High School and Columbus Academy in Gahanna formed a racist Snapchat group called The George Floyd Brotherhood. The half-dozen boys regularly invited individuals into the chat and then harassed them with racist, sexist and homophobic slurs, casually describing women as sluts and making cracks about hanging Black classmates, Columbus Alive reported in 2020.
Black students make up about 5% of Bexley's student body, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
"I'm done with the rhetoric," Carl Woodford told board members, noting his 13-year-old daughter saw the racist images on the announcements. "I'm done with the talk. We as a community want action because your inactions have not worked."
Monroe Trombly covers breaking and trending news.
mtrombly@dispatch.com
@monroetrombly
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Racist social media posts shared by pupils, Bexley superintendent says
