I found an online news article titled “‘Widespread’ racial harassment found at Utah school district”. The article explained that a federal civil rights investigation found widespread racial harassment of Black and Asian American students at a Utah school district. There were hundreds of documented uses of the N-word and other racial epithets over the past five years. The investigation also found physical assaults, derogatory racial comments, and harsher discipline for students of color at Davis School District (Whitehurst and Eppolito). Black students throughout the district told investigators about experiences of white and non-Black students making monkey noises at their Black peers, repeatedly referenced slavery and lynching, and told Black students to “go pick cotton” and “you are my slave” (Whitehurst and Eppolito). The district has agreed to take action to fix this racial harassment as part of a settlement agreement. Some of the district’s actions include a new department to handle complaints, more training for staff, and data collection. Not only did district officials admit “to federal investigators that their discipline data from at least four years revealed that staff treated students of color differently than white students” (Whitehurst and Eppolito), but the district did nothing to correct this issue. This racial harassment towards Black and Asian American students relates to the concept of the Other and how people in higher positions of power use Othering to establish themselves and make themselves above their peers. The school district officials misused their power by not stopping the racial harassment towards non-white students and making them feel less superior to them.
This event shows systemic racism due to the Utah school district not taking action to protect Black and Asian Americans from racial harassment and physical assault. Even though district officials knew about the injustices directed towards these non-caucasian students, they allowed it to persist until an investigation exposed them. If these problems were happening to white students, there is probably a higher chance the Utah school district would have stopped the harassment and assaults right away. In order for this wrong to be righted, the district officials involved should be fired or forced to resign. The students who used racial slurs or became physical towards Black and Asian students should be suspended or expelled. They need to have consequences for their actions so they will never do it again. Overall, this is an example of systemic injustices because a Utah school district allowed students to get away with discriminating against their Black and Asian American peers.
Link to relatable article: (“Former Westfield student sues school district over lack of response to racist bullying”): https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2021/11/04/former-westfield-washington-student-sues-district-over-racist-bullying/6281732001/.
Works Cited
Whitehurst, Lindsay, and Sophia Eppolito. “’Widespread’ Racial Harassment Found at Utah School District.” AP NEWS, The Associated Press, 22 Oct. 2021, https://apnews.com/article/education-race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-utah-salt-lake-city-ddbbc8596f1c05f617e31ea3fcfa5dc9.