A video of a Cherry Creek College District pupil utilizing racial slurs and stating Black individuals shouldn’t be alive is prompting Colorado fairness advocates to name for elevated training, consciousness and security.
The video exhibits a pupil from West Center College in Greenwood Village calling Black individuals racial slurs and stating that Black individuals shouldn’t be alive.
The coed additionally states that they hate Black individuals, their pores and skin colour and the way they speak.
At a information convention in entrance of the center faculty on Wednesday, NAACP Rocky Mountain President Portia Prescott stated the video factors to a bigger downside of youngsters pondering it’s acceptable to make use of racist language.
“This isn’t an remoted incident,” Prescott stated. “It is a state downside.”
In a press release, Cherry Creek College District officers stated they have been made conscious of the video, which was shared in a gaggle textual content, in late September.
“Whereas this incident occurred off campus, we realized the potential affect this video would have on the scholar neighborhood. Administration and legislation enforcement acted instantly to analyze the scenario,” faculty district officers stated in a press release Wednesday.
The scholars discovered to be accountable confronted “important self-discipline,” Cherry Creek officers stated. Particulars of disciplinary motion can’t be disclosed because of pupil privateness rights, the district stated.
“The Cherry Creek College District doesn’t tolerate hate of any variety in our faculties and realizes the trauma and ache these conditions trigger our college students and their households. We take this severely and supply assist to impacted college students and households,” district officers stated in a press release. “We proceed to work with neighborhood organizations to fight hate and guarantee all college students really feel protected and supported in faculties.”
Prescott stated she has been contacted by a number of mother and father who’re involved in regards to the faculty district’s dealing with of the incident and whether or not the video may very well be a precursor to violence.
“We need to work with the college system to ensure that all of our kids — I don’t care what colour you might be, white, pink, purple, orange — all of our kids are protected,” Prescott stated. “We’re right here to assist the faculties and the superintendent give you new options to all the time defend all of our kids.”
Racism and discrimination in metro Denver faculties just isn’t new, Prescott stated — she skilled it as a pupil, as did her mom and her daughter — however it’s one thing that may be addressed.
“Colorado is a frontrunner in quite a lot of issues. Why don’t we be a frontrunner on this dialog?” she stated.
Vern Howard, chair of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Colorado Vacation Fee, additionally spoke on the information convention and described the video as “very disturbing.”
“It’s unlucky that this befell on Sept. 26 and right here we’re nearly two months later with out decision. So let’s work collectively. Let’s construct a loving neighborhood, one which we will all reside in, love in and exist in collectively,” he stated.
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