Cherry Creek School District Archives - Yellow Scene Magazine

Black leaders criticize Cherry Creek School District’s handling of racist video

Guest Contributor — Sun, 19 Nov 2023 03:00:23 +0000

By Tayler Shaw at Colorado Community Media (Via AP Storyshare)

Black leaders in Colorado raised concerns on Wednesday about student safety following the spread of a video that showing a middle school student expressing hatred against Black people.

In the video, shared with Colorado Community Media, a child used a racial slur and said Black people should “not be alive right now.” The child said that he hates the color of their skin.

The Rocky Mountain NAACP, which called an “emergency” press conference on Nov. 15, said the video is of a West Middle School student. It was allegedly made in September.

The school is part of the Cherry Creek School District, which responded said that it was first made aware of the racist video in September. The district said it believed the video was created outside of a school setting by a student and shared in a group text with other students.

“The language in the video is hate-filled and we took swift action to address this unacceptable behavior,” the school district said in a statement. “Administration and law enforcement acted immediately to investigate the situation.”

The district added: “Students found to be responsible faced significant discipline and their parents were responsive to the severity of the situation. Due to the privacy rights of students, we cannot discuss specifics of discipline.”

Black leaders said the district has not done enough to ensure the safety of students.

Portia Prescott, the president of the Rocky Mountain NAACP, said that she has received comments from concerned parents about the video, which have been ongoing since it first surfaced about a month ago, expressing fear for students’ safety.

“We are late, obviously, two months later, but unfortunately, that’s how viral works,” Prescott said while standing outside of West Middle School in Greenwood Village, south of Denver, during the press conference. “It got to a bunch of kids.”

Prescott said a clip of the student was reshared online and eventually shared with children who showed it to their parents.
The district said West Middle School Principal Mónica García informed the school’s families on Sept. 29 of the video.

In that letter, made public amid the press conference this week, García said the school “dealt with some incidents of racist speech at our school and in our community,” calling it unacceptable. The principal included a resource for families to talk with children about discriminatory behavior and hate-motivated language.

Prescott said school leaders should have addressed the situation more publicly.

Vern L. Howard, the chairman of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Colorado Holiday Commission, said parents have expressed concern that the district did not handle the situation properly. He said the issue was serious enough to warrant involvement beyond the middle school.

“There should have been a district-wide email that went out to parents letting them know that this threat or this rhetoric existed and then how they handled it,” Howard said.

Howard said some parents who have concerns did not feel comfortable speaking at the press conference because they do not feel safe.
Prescott said the NAACP is shouldering a lot of complaints from parents because they feel like the school district is not listening.
“We need to talk about, ‘What is public safety for parents?’” she said.

She added that she does not want to blame anyone and that she views the video as a cry for help. “It’s not a parent issue, but it is all of our issues,” she said.

Prescott and Howard said they want to work with the community and the school district to protect students and make sure everyone feels safe.

“That’s why we’re here today,” Prescott said. “We’re here to come up with new solutions, to help the schools.”

This story from www.ColoradoCommunityMedia.com, which reports on news and events in two dozen communities in the Denver area.

The post Black leaders criticize Cherry Creek School District’s handling of racist video appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Native American students’ right to wear regalia at graduation protected by Colorado bill

Guest Contributor — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 23:00:46 +0000

By Jason Gonzales, Chalkbeat Colorado (AP Storyshare)

Colorado would guarantee the right of Native American students to wear items such as eagle feathers and other traditional clothing at graduation ceremonies through a bill under consideration this year.

Federal law protects Native American religious and cultural rights. But students sometimes run into issues or find flat-out prohibition at schools when it comes to wearing regalia at ceremonies, advocates say. They say families must then fight to make districts aware of the importance of traditional clothing. Or students running into a lack of understanding might choose to skip graduation ceremonies altogether.

Senate Bill 202 would ensure K-12 schools, colleges, and universities create policies to protect Native American students so they don’t run into issues.

Sen. Jessie Danielson, a Wheat Ridge Democrat and co-sponsor of the bill, said she’s heard of school officials telling students they have to hide, remove, or even throw away regalia because of policies that maintain uniformity at graduations. She said some students have even reported school officials touched or confiscated students’ eagle feathers, a cultural and religious symbol.

“This bill clarifies for the school that you do not interfere with this,” Danielson said. “You cannot harass these students and prevent them from wearing their traditional regalia.”

Schools asking Native American students to remove or throw away items is like a school asking a student to get rid of a Jewish or Christian symbol, said Melvin Baker, Southern Ute Tribal Council chairman, during a Monday hearing.

He added that the United States has a history of trying to erase Native American culture, and the bill would ensure students get to honor their identity and their achievement.

“Tribal regalia plays a unique role for graduating native Native students,” Baker said. “These items are often gifted to students by parents or tribal elders in recognition of this achievement.”

The Native American Rights Fund receives many calls every spring from families across the country looking for support on how to ensure they can wear regalia at graduation ceremonies, said Matthew Campbell, the organization’s deputy director. It’s been a few years since he fielded a call from Colorado families, but he said families do sometimes run into trouble with schools.

“Usually, when we reach out to the schools and explain the importance of these items — once they understand — they usually will allow them to be worn,” Campbell said.

In recent years, some states have added teachings about Native American religion and culture. Other changes that try to create more respect toward Native American culture have happened, including a law Colorado passed last year that bans Native American mascots.

Colorado would join eight other states in ensuring Native American students can wear traditional regalia.

Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis, a Longmont Democrat co-sponsoring the legislation, said the goal is to make sure that every Colorado district understands.

The bill defines qualifying students as members of a tribe, eligible tribal members, or those of Native American descent. The bill says that immediate family members would also be allowed to wear traditional Native American dress during their students’ graduation ceremony.

Speakers at a Senate Education Committee hearing said traditional dress might include clothing, bracelets, necklaces, or eagle feathers. The bill needs a final vote in the Senate before heading to the House.

The bill doesn’t say how schools will ensure students have the right to wear traditional items, Jaquez Lewis said.

“We leave the details up to the school districts and the schools but what we do in this bill is we set guardrails,” she said.

Some districts have started to create policies.

Cherry Creek School District has created a ceremony for Native American students and is working on graduation ceremony policies, said Aspen Rendon, a partner with the district’s department of equity, culture, and community engagement. The district also has an indigenous action committee working toward creating a more inclusive district, Rendon said.

Jeffrey Chavez, the district’s indigenous and native student community liaison, said it’s important to recognize native traditions, especially in urban districts like Cherry Creek. Ensuring students get to wear their regalia at ceremonies helps carry on traditions.

“That’s how we honor ourselves and our community and family with those traditions,” he said.

Indigenous action committee member Donna Chrisjohn said a principal didn’t allow her son in 2020 to wear Native American regalia at his graduation ceremony. Her son ended up not participating in the ceremony.

She is glad the district is changing and happy to have helped make lawmakers aware of the issue.

“This is so impactful for all families to know that someone will not push back when their child decides that they want to show up as who they really are,” Chrisjohn said. “That’s a huge step in the right direction.”

Jason Gonzales is a reporter covering higher education and the Colorado legislature. Chalkbeat Colorado partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. Contact Jason at jgonzales@chalkbeat.org.

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A coalition of bi-partisan Black leaders in Denver stands together to condemn anti-Blackness in the 2023 municipal elections.

Guest Contributor — Sun, 12 Mar 2023 20:23:11 +0000

Demanding candidates and media outlets act with integrity and respect towards all community members. Full statement attached.

“As a bi-partisan coalition of Black elected officials, community leaders, and organizations, we stand together to condemn the blatant anti-Blackness that has been pervasive in the 2023 municipal elections in Denver. Including white candidates, independent expenditure committees, and local affiliates of national public broadcast networks. We have witnessed the following behavior that is concerning and must be called out:

The media’s portrayal of Black candidates in this election season has been unbalanced, unfair, and harmful. More specifically, Black women have been scrutinized for their appearance, tone, and demeanor, while their accomplishments and leadership are overlooked and minimized. This harmful stereotype is used to discredit and invalidate their vast experiences, unique perspectives, and human emotions, particularly when they speak out against injustice.
We have seen propaganda that promotes segregationist messaging and seeks to dehumanize the Black vote. This type of messaging is reminiscent of the Jim Crow South, where racist policies and practices were used to disenfranchise and marginalize Black people. We find this type of behavior to be unacceptable and demand that all candidates disavow and cease such tactics.
We have seen commercials and ads that intentionally perpetuate harmful and racist stereotypes of people of color, particularly Black people, portrayed as criminals and undesirables. This perpetuation of negative imagery is not only inaccurate but also perpetuates a dangerous and dehumanizing narrative about our community. While we are grateful this has been called out, we are also concerned that these ads continue to be broadcast across the city and county of Denver.
Black candidates have also been excluded from forums and debates, preventing them from fully participating in the democratic process. This exclusion is a form of voter suppression and is unacceptable in a free and fair election. We must ensure that all voices are heard and represented in the electoral process.

We must recognize that these actions are not isolated incidents but are part of a long history of systemic racism and oppression against Black people in the United States. The legacy of Jim Crow laws and policies is still felt today in our communities, and we must work to dismantle the systemic racism and oppression that still exists.

We demand that all candidates, media outlets, and individuals involved in the electoral process act with integrity, respect, and dignity towards all members of our community and that they commit to addressing and dismantling systemic racism and oppression in our society. We must come together to create a future where anti-Blackness is no longer tolerated or accepted.

In conclusion, we will not stand idly by and watch as our community is subjected to such hateful and discriminatory treatment. We call on all Denverites to cease and desist from engaging in such behavior and instead focus on meaningful and constructive policy discussions that benefit all members of the community.

We also call on media outlets to act responsibly and ethically and to refrain from perpetuating harmful racial stereotypes. We demand that all candidates and media outlets commit to promoting an inclusive and diverse democracy that works towards the betterment of all members of our community.

We urge all voters to join us in standing against anti-Blackness. It is time for us to come together as a community and work towards a future where we can all live in a just and equitable society, free from the harmful effects of systemic racism and oppression.

We are committed to continuing the fight against anti-Blackness and to working towards a better future for all members of our community. We will not rest until justice and equity is achieved for all.

In Solidarity,

Wanda James, University of Colorado Regent, District 1

James Coleman, Colorado State Senator

Jennifer Bacon, Colorado State Representative

Naquetta Ricks, Colorado State Representative

Regina English, Colorado State Representative, and Harrison School District Two Board Member

Auon’tai Anderson, President – Colorado Black Caucus of School Board Directors

Corey Williams, President – Harrison School District Two

Will Jones, Vice President – Mesa County School District 51

Stephanie Mason, Vice President – Aurora Public Schools

JJ Frazier, Vice President – Harrison School District Two

Janice McDonald, Vice President – Cherry Creek School District