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Dear John,
California’s Central Valley schools have a history of anti-Blackness. Administrators routinely silence students when they try to speak about their experiences, ignore complaints about racism, and do nothing to address the hostile environment Black students face. These students are excessively punished and denied fair investigations and solutions.
We’re using our YourVoice video platform to expose all of the ways these Black students are marginalized and silenced. Color Of Change has a team to edit the videos - shout out to the Video Squad - and financial costs to operate the platform. Your donation will help to pay for the expenses necessary to run this invaluable platform that will pave the way for even more Black stories to be told.
Chip in $4 so that we can continue to document and share these students’ stories!
When a teacher at Del Paso Elementary School threw away students’ Black Lives Matter (BLM) projects1, Color Of Change joined forces with the ACLU of Northern California to advocate for the students involved in this case. In the midst of fighting for strategic demands to be met, it became clear that several school districts throughout the region were also ignoring Black children’s experiences and treating them as one-off instances, minimizing the systemic problem.
Here are some recent disturbing examples:
- Black students in the Visalia Unified School District have been repeatedly harassed and called racial slurs as early as elementary school with no consequences for the perpetrators.2
- A teacher at Roosevelt High School in Fresno gave students an assignment to translate African American Vernacular “Black English” into “standard” English.3
- Blackface videos were spread at Bullard school in the Fresno Unified School District and Black students were harassed for reporting them.4
- In Clovis, a Black bi-racial student was told his afro did not meet the requirements for a “cultural waiver” within its previous dress code.5
- A Fresno Unified middle school student was forced to shave his hair as his traditional Black haircut was deemed “distracting.” 6
Across the board, their complaints have been poorly investigated and swept under the rug by teachers and administrators. Black children throughout the region are struggling in hostile school environments where they are silenced and traumatized by school culture that repeatedly denies their experiences of racism.
That’s why we are collecting stories of Black children to tell the California Department of Education that enough is enough. We will not accept half-hearted investigations into racist school districts. We’re going to expose the systemic failures of Central Valley schools by making the voices of Black children unignorable. We’re going to be able to prove that this is a systemic issue and demand the California Department of Education create a more equitable environment for Black students.
Sharing Black stories is the foundation of the work we do at Color Of Change. Since 2018, hundreds of Color Of Change members from across the country have told their personal stories through our YourVoice platform on issues ranging from their experiences of hair discrimination to the ways the criminal justice system impacts their families. This powerful platform has been an effective tool for everyday people to speak truth to power. Now, to address the anti-Blackness at Central Valley Schools, we are using our YourVoice platform to demand that decision-makers listen to the voices of Black children.
We need your help to make this successful. Supporting our video platform and the people power behind it helps us to make sure Black voices are heard and our experiences centered, and stops the denial of racism in schools.
Help us gather students’ stories and expose the anti-Blackness in Central Valley schools with our YourVoice video platform!
Until justice is real,
Brandi, Rashad, Arisha, Evan, Johnny, Jade, Future, Eesha, Samantha, Marcus, FolaSade, Jennette, Cierra and the rest of the Color Of Change team
References
1. “Sacramento school accused of discrimination after students' art thrown out,” KCRA3 News, November 22, 2019, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/230428?t=9&akid=41173%2E4731121%2E1rcxbE
2. “ACLU Files Discrimination Complaint on Behalf of Black Students in Central California,” The Root, October 24, 2019, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/230433?t=11&akid=41173%2E4731121%2E1rcxbE
3. “FUSD apologizes for racially insensitive English assignment at Roosevelt High,” Yourcentralvalley.com, January 23, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/230432?t=13&akid=41173%2E4731121%2E1rcxbE
4. “ACLU files complaint on behalf of two students at Bullard High over blackface video,” ABC 30, October 20, 2019, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/230431?t=15&akid=41173%2E4731121%2E1rcxbE
5. "A boy and his hair are behind the latest Clovis Unified dress code debate," The Fresno Bee, February 6, 2016, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/237142?t=17&akid=41173%2E4731121%2E1rcxbE
6. "Black mom furious after honor roll son is kicked out of class because of his haircut," The Grio, March 9, 2018, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/237141?t=19&akid=41173%2E4731121%2E1rcxbE
Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Help keep our movement strong.
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