The South Bend NAACP is calling for action after offensive language was used during a student livestream of the recent Riley-versus-Penn basketball game.
The NAACP is demanding changes — saying they’ve researched the district’s student code of conduct and discovered lacks clear language addressing derogatory or racist comments.
The NAACP is now asking for policy revisions, the creation of a task force to examine bias in the district, and a written response from the superintendent outlining steps to prevent similar incidents in the future. They also want the student involved and their parents to be required to research and write a paper examining the harmful impact of racist language on individuals and communities, and present those findings during a South Bend Schools public meeting.
Penn High School’s principal says the district is taking the incident seriously and is investigating.
South Bend NAACP full statement:
Upon learning of the video livestreamed by a Penn High School student on March 6, 2006, the NAACP initially believed the content to be AI-generated.
This assumption was dispelled following a statement issued by the school principal, confirming the video’s authenticity.
The NAACP’s mission is to achieve equity, political rights, and social inclusion by advancing policies and practices that expand civil and human rights, eliminate discrimination, and promote the well-being, education, and economic security of Black people and all communities of color.
After reviewing the student code of conduct handbook, the NAACP found no clear provisions addressing the use of derogatory language. We believe this omission should be addressed through appropriate revisions to the policy.
Over the course of several years, the NAACP has been compelled to meet with teachers, students, and administrators in response to ongoing incidents of racial discrimination within the PHM School District. Given this continued pattern and the seriousness of the current incident, we respectfully request the following actions:
That the student involved and his/her parents be required to research and write a paper examining the harmful impact of racist language on individuals and communities, and present those findings to the SBCSC School Board during a public meeting.
That a task force be established to examine implicit bias within the school district, assess its impact on students and staff, and recommend meaningful and enforceable corrective measures.
That the Superintendent provide a written statement outlining how this incident will be addressed and what specific steps will be taken to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
In closing, the use of hateful, racist language by a student in a public broadcast demonstrates that there is still important work to be done to protect the dignity and worth of every human being. This moment calls for reflection and accountability within the PHM school community. We welcome continued dialogue with community leaders as we work together toward a just resolution.
The Penn High School principal in a letter to the community said they are taking the incident seriously and are investigating the matter.
2 comments
“They also want the student involved and their parents to be required to research and write a paper examining the harmful impact of racist language on individuals and communities, and present those findings during a South Bend Schools public meeting.”
Here’s your paper: We need to stop using that word. Fixating on the word to use as a shield removes accountability for their actions as a whole. It detracts from the conversations about 13% of the population committing more than 50% of the violent crimes. It overshadows the fact that after 50 years of SJW “progress”, government dependency has skyrocketed and nearly 3/4 of their babies are born out of wedlock. That word draws attention away from the fact that the only people you are legally allowed to be racist against are White people (in fact, it is legally required in many cases!). There will never be any improvement as long as they have that word to use as a shield from criticism and a crutch to get preferential treatment.
We demand in the interest of equality, that the word stops being used immediately! That includes in their music and conversations with each other, because that’s how equality works.
If we spent as much time addressing actual issues as we do worrying about words, we would ALL be better off! Well, everyone except grifters of the grievance industry such as the NCAAP…
I would just tell them “NO”