Parents March on School Board, Cite Racial Profiling of Students

Board, Superintendent Promise Quick Action

Story and photo by
James Allardice
Mirror staff writer

   Accusing the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) of racism, African American and Latino parents delivered an impassioned plea to the School Board last Thursday, alleging that school officials engaged in racial profiling.
   Despite words of support from many of the Board members, as well as a promise to immediately investigate the issue of racial profiling within the District by Superintendent John Deasy, parents angrily stormed out of the June 27 meeting after board member Brenda Gottfried denounced the idea -- broached by a minority parent -- that the District could fix a problem that has spanned many generations in 30 days.
   “Social justice is a value of this district,” Gottfried said. “It’s not okay to [only] come here when there is a crisis and ask for help.” She also suggested that the newly formed organization, Mothers for Justice, was propagating a stereotype by not including fathers. “Don’t perpetuate the stereotype that when minorities are incarcerated the mothers come forward. These are family issues. Don’t show up in 10 years with more sad stories. Stay with us.
   “This is a problem that has taken generations to perpetuate. And you come in here and give us 30 days to solve it.”
   After marching through the Pico neighborhood under the Mothers for Justice banner, men, women and students held a press conference outside the District offices on 16th Street before presenting the School Board with a report, “Institutionalized Racism in the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District: Its Impact on Students of Color.”
   “This has been a serious matter in the Santa Monica schools for many years. We are here to send a strong message to the School Board,” Mothers for Justice organizer, Maria Loya, said. “We are here today because we are tired of our kids being put on a track to prison rather than college. We want the school board to take concrete steps to solve the problem of racial profiling and selective enforcement.”
   The organization’s report includes an 8-page summary citing examples of institutionalized racism within the District, three examples written by parents and several sections on school discipline of minorities. According to the report, “Institutionalized racism permeates the culture, values, beliefs, traditions, policies and practices of schools and their governance structure. … The administrators who run the schools rarely challenge the status quo or bring in their notion of what is right for students.”
   The study goes on to say, “Youth of color who reside in Santa Monica’s Pico Neighborhood are constantly targeted by school administrators and police for suspensions, expulsions, probation and incarceration. Schools have now become a gateway to the criminal justice system.”
   The study also includes 18 “strategies and solutions that can keep our children safe at school and in the community.”
   Toyka Harris, parent of a 13-year old John Adams Middle School student, said, “When my son was questioned he asked for a parent and they took him to jail … he’s in eighth grade.” Similar stories were told both to the media and later to the School Board.
   “In the past month, parents and community members have come together regarding disciplinary issues,” Loya told the Board. “These parents found a common experience … one of racial profiling and selective enforcement. We are here tonight to ask for your leadership. This is a serious issue in our community.”
   Margie Zepeda said her son was arrested for joy-riding and beaten “black and blue” by police. “They came into my house and took him literally out of the shower, in shorts and barefooted, for grand theft auto, and took him away. I haven’t seen my son since.”
   Santa Monica High School’s new Associated Student Body president, Cynthia Santiago, said, “I’ve seen the criminalization of students at Samohi. When schools give up on us – that’s the real criminalization. Give us an education, not incarceration.” Santiago was one of more than a dozen students, parents and community members to address the board.
   John Adams Middle School was mentioned far more than any other school by parents addressing the board. According to the report, during the 2000-2001 school year, 60 percent of the school’s suspended students were Latino, though only 44 percent of the student population is Latino. Former John Adams Principal Jerry Kantor was repeatedly named by those speaking to the Board. Kantor retired this year after 18 years at JAMS.
   Samohi alumnus, Cesar Ortera, said, “Growing up in this community, I’ve had horrible experiences with the schools. I had a teacher that told me I’d be nothing but a Mexican garbage man. I want to follow my own dreams, not someone else’s expectations.”
   Terry Lopez Archuletta told the board, “Racial profiling is very real. We are here today demanding it stop.”
   Following the group’s presentations, Board President Julia Brownley said, “We are listening. We hear your concerns. Let me make it clear that you have been heard.” Brownley also said that there was little the Board could do that night because the issue was not on the agenda. “We will ask the superintendent to further investigate these issues and come back to the board. We need to investigate the whole issue. The Board wants to respond but we also need time,” she said.
   Deasy assured community members that he would bring the issue back to the Board quickly. “I think, in situations like this, there is a temptation to be defensive. But it’s more important to listen and hear what is being said,” Deasy said. “We don’t have the luxury of time on an issue like this. I can assure you we will bring this issue back before the Board before school starts. You have our commitment to work through these issues”
   Before Gottfried spoke, several other Board members voiced their commitment to investigate the issue of racial profiling. Maria Leon-Vasquez said, “We have to do our homework, too.”
   Pam Brady called the testimony “heartwrenching” and commended the community members for presenting the issue with “such dignity…We are here to empower all students,” she said.
   It was at that point that Gottfied spoke, and most of the people who came with Mothers For Justice stood up and left, a few yelling angrily at Gottfried.
   “Everything was really positive,” Loya said. “But one Board member disrespected the parents and that’s unacceptable. It’s a very emotional issue, and these parents go through a lot on a daily basis. It was very brave of them to so openly share their stories. And to be so blatantly disrespected is very disheartening.
   “This is an issue of disrespect in the school Board,” she said. “We’ve remained silent too long. Policies have to be enacted to protect students and parents.”