D.T. Carson
“You’re my favorite monkey,” read one note from a classmate to a Black sixth grader at the Pepper Tree Elementary School during Black History Month. Another note read, “To my favorite cotton picker,” and with it was a drawing depicting a slave.
“These cards were passed out to the Black kids at my grandchildren’s school…Pepper Tree Elementary, for Black History Month,” Earlie Douglas posted on Facebook on Feb. 17. “My granddaughter was told that they were making her one for her that says, ‘You are my favorite slave’ and they were drawing a picture of a slave hanging from a tree.”
Marlene Reynozo, mother of the student who received some of the notes took her concerns to the district, and when they did nothing, the media was alerted, prompting tensions that boiled over at a district board meeting this week.
Reynoso, who spoke during the meeting, said “It wasn’t until I had to get upset and because she continued to be harassed, that I had to pull her from school and the other child still gets to go to school every day.”
Another parent present at the board meeting said that a girl in his class also referred to his son as a monkey.
“I’m actually heartbroken,” Upland Unified School District superintendent Lynn Carmen Day said, noting that all students deserved “respect, love, safety, and a sense of belonging at school.”
In a released video, district board president Truman Garnett said, “Recent racially insensitive and unacceptable incidents have taken place in our schools. We deeply regret the hurt that this behavior has caused our students and families in our community. As a leader and representative of the Upland Unified School District, I want to make it perfectly clear that we have a strict zero tolerance policy on any type of hate speech, harassment, discriminatory practices, behaviors, racial slurs and any reports of these actions will be investigated thoroughly and immediately.”
Many of those present at the board meeting reported that this was not the first time Black students had been racially bullied and were particularly upset that parents weren’t notified of the February 2 incident until two weeks later.
The Pepper Tree Elementary School Parent-Teacher Association wanted to make it clear where they stood on the matter with President Robin Allen posting, “Racist incidents and bullying in all forms particularly racial bullying is outrageous, egregious and will not be tolerated. Our children cannot grow up in this environment.”
Parents called for the students cited in the incidents to be expelled, however whatever action was taken has not been made public, though district representatives said that progressive discipline was enacted and there was a continuing investigation into the incident to determine if there will be any further district response. Additionally, that they would do everything in their power to prevent such incidents from happening again.