A California school district is investigating after a video of student hurling racist remarks against African-Americans went viral on social media this week, sparking backlash from those in the community.
Officials with the Elk Grove Unified School District said numerous concerned community members alerted them to the “racially intolerant” footage after it was posted to the app Snapchat and then re-shared on Twitter, according to a statement on the district website. The two girls the video have been identified as Pleasant Grove High School students.
In the clip, one of the students can be heard saying things like, “Black people are trash – they need to die. At one point, she makes light of police brutality, saying, ” … when the police were killing all those Black people, I was so happy.” The other student simply looks on and laughs as her friend continues making offensive comments.
This shit getting outa hand……… pic.twitter.com/LLPb3IHer3
— khi💸 (@RealBabyK1) December 24, 2017
The concerning incident comes just one month after Elk Grove hosted a series of forums discussing race relations in the community, local station ABC10 reported. Sharie Wilson, a salon owner whose business was recently targeted in a hate crime, helped to organize the forums.
“How do you think our kids felt when they heard that?” Wilson, who is African-American, told the news station. “I’m sure they’re saying, ‘Oh, Mom, I always hear this it’s normal.’ But deep inside it’s doing something to them.”
Since the incident, a district spokesperson said the EGUSD has been in contact with the students’ families as they work to complete their investigation. Sacramento attorney Alin Cintean told CBS News that as “despicable” the girl’s comments were, there was no crime committed. Cintean said the student’s words were not ones that would incite “immediate violence” or constitute a threat.
“All reports of bullying, discriminatory, intolerant and/or hateful speech are taken very seriously,” the district said in a statement. ” … The comments made in the video aren’t supported by EGUSD in any way. This type of expression is hurtful and risks negative impacts to EGUSD’s educational environment and school community.”
