Community speaks out against students who repeatedly say N-word in leaked video: Racism is a 'world problem'
A video in which Texas high school students repeatedly say the N-word went viral Wednesday after being posted on Snapchat. Officials of a school attended by two of those involved have condemned the behavior, saying, “This type of speech will always be unacceptable.”
One of the teens seen and heard in the video is a student at Southlake Carroll in Southlake, which is part of the Carroll Independent School District (CISD). A second Southlake Carroll student was apparently in the car but off-camera. It’s unknown where the other students go to school.
CISD posted a statement on Facebook calling the video “unacceptable” and saying the derogatory speech “makes us angry and sad.” It added that school administrators have been working with local police, school resource officers and parents.
“Because of the disruption to the educational environment, our campus administrators have already taken steps to consistently apply the Student Code of Conduct to the extent allowable under the law,” the statement reads. “Behavior that involves derogatory speech that targets individuals or groups of individuals for their ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation or disabilities will not be tolerated in Carroll ISD.”
CISD said that the student featured most prominently in the video has posted a public apology for uttering the epithet but that “it does not undo the harm and hurt felt when racial slurs are used.” The school congratulated the students who reported the incident and expressed hope that it is the first step in instilling racial tolerance in the student body.
The school district is partnering with local and campus diversity councils and other members of the community to change the attitude surrounding race in Southlake. The statement called racism “not welcome” and said it is both a “world problem” and a “heart problem.”
“We are even more resolved today to move forward in our efforts to promote cultural competence,” the statement reads.
A 20-year-old Southlake Carroll alumnus told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he believes racism has long been “bubbling under the surface of the community” and that the students are essentially products of a sheltered environment where there are few people of color. “There are social consequences growing up in a social space of people who look just like you,” he said.
This is not the first time a racist video has rocked CISD. In November, a clip showing a group of mostly female students chanting the N-word circulated online. The controversy led to a special board meeting, where CISD vice president Michelle Moore discussed a “cultural competence” plan, according to the Star-Telegram.
Southlake Mayor Laura Hill weighed in on both incidents in a Facebook post Wednesday. “I am at a loss for words, at least words that are becoming a mayor,” Hill wrote. She challenged parents to step up and join school officials in raising more inclusive-minded children, instead of placing the entire burden on the schools.
“I am going to say, parents we had better wake the heck up,” Hill wrote. “Every time a child does something ignorant or just plain bad we demand to know what the district is going to do and what will the punishment be. As parents, we constantly demand the district fix problems when we obviously haven’t been able to fix them ourselves. This ugly thinking can’t be ‘fixed’ by some magical punishment from Carroll ISD.”
Parents and community members have risen to the challenge on Facebook, congratulating Hill on her statement.
“Absolutely spot-on arguments,” one person commented. “Needed to be said.”
“Well said!!! It’s a shame but you are raising a lot of children. I can’t believe racism still exists. Sorry you are having to deal with this issue,” another wrote.
On CISD’s Facebook page, parents let school officials know they are ready to address the issue.
“Thank you for the transparency,” one parent wrote. “I’m eager for the diversity councils to be underway so we can discuss these incidents and brainstorm how to address any root causes.”
Another suggested: “Please additionally enact measures that consider derogatory speech that targets individuals or groups of individuals for their gender identity and body shape/size as intolerable as well.”
CISD officials feel optimistic, saying that they “choose hope, love and acceptance and will concentrate on those goals moving forward.”
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