Stand with the students of Del Paso Elementary

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Demand that the San Juan Unified School district meet our six demands!

[ [link removed] ]Take Action

 
John,

Ms. Kincaid, a parent-volunteer at Del Paso Elementary school in
Sacramento, California, recently taught a lesson about the art and
activism that occurs in communities and in schools. She encouraged
students to create a poster detailing a cause they care about. Four
students at the school chose to create art in support of Black Lives
Matter. But, when the classroom teacher, Mr. Madden, saw these projects,
he thought them to be too political, and he threw one of the student's
projects away.^1

Mr. Madden tried to silence students who were inspired by the Movement for
Black Lives. [ [link removed] ]Stand with the students of Del Paso Elementary School
against efforts to silence their support of Black Lives Matter.

When Ms. Kincaid spoke to school authorities about Mr. Madden’s decision
to throw out the students’ projects, the school principal and other
administrators not only supported the Mr. Madden’s decision, but also
banned Ms. Kincaid from being an art docent.

[ [link removed] ]Stand with the students and parents of Del Paso Elementary to demand
the school district reverse its discriminatory decision.

This seemingly one-off incident is part of a history of anti-Blackness in
California schools. Recently, Black students in three different California
school districts were targeted and treated with hostility.^2 One of those
three school districts banned Black Lives Matter signs and stickers.^3 And
Black students in California and across the country are 3.4 times more
likely to be disciplined than white students.^4 Other students focused
their projects on topics like the environment, and those projects were
deemed worthy. Throwing out students’ Black Lives Matter projects sends a
message to Black children and other children at California schools that
Black people’s dignity and humanity is not important. It also sends a
message to the students that they should be ashamed of Black Lives Matter.
But students should not be shamed for supporting Black Lives Matter; they
should be encouraged!

Ms. Kincaid and students are fighting back. They hired an attorney who
sent a letter to the Superintendent of the school district last week. Mr.
Madden, the classroom teacher, and school administrators are not above
that law, and they cannot prohibit these students’ Black Lives Matter
posters, which are considered protected speech under the California
education code.^5 We must hold them accountable for silencing students’
voices and denying the dignity and humanity of Black people.

In collaboration with other civil rights orgs, we demand that the school:

* Issues a public apology,
* Reinstate Ms. Kincaid’s the parent volunteer’s privileges as a parent
volunteer,
* Allow students to put up their Black Lives Matter posters,
* Incorporate Black Lives Matter into their curriculum and school
events,
* Provide cultural and sensitivity training for staff, and,
* Host parent engagement training.

[ [link removed] ]Demand that the San Juan Unified School district reverse their
discriminatory decision, and meet our six demands!

Until justice is real,

Jade, Rashad, Arisha, Johnny, Amanda, Evan, Future, Eesha, Samantha,
Marcus, FolaSade, and the rest of the Color Of Change team

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References:
 1. “Sacramento school accused of discrimination after students' art
thrown out”, KCRA3 News, November 22, 2019,
[link removed]
 2. “Sacramento elementary school teacher throws away students’ black
lives matter project”, The Root, November 24, 2019,
[link removed]
 3. “ACLU calls on Alameda school district to lift Black Lives Matter
ban”, ACLU of Northern California, November 1, 2017,
[link removed]
 4. “Is there racial inequality at your school?”, ProPublica, October 16,
2018, [link removed]
 5. Letter to Superintendent, ACLU of Northern California, November 21,
2019,
[link removed]

 


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[ [link removed] ]Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black
folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. [ [link removed] ]Help
keep our movement strong.

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