A second racist video surfaced online weeks after families in a predominantly white town in Colorado demanded a local school district do more to curtail and penalize students captured on footage wishing death on Black people.
Local civil rights organizations are now calling for the creators of the videos and their guardians to step up, apologize, and volunteer in their offices, doing racial equity work.
Speaking at a board of education meeting on Monday, Dec. 11, Cherry Creek School superintendent Chris Smith addressed the videos, saying, “We will not tolerate hate in the Cherry Creek School District.”
He added, “Currently, we are dealing with situations where we’ve had racist videos that have found their way into our school. Disgusting, horrible, racist videos. We’ve had situations of the social media movement around using the N-word.”
He emphasized the need for parents, teachers, principals, and students to actively promote accountability for instances of racist conduct after the most recent video was shared on social media at the end of November.
“We will hold students accountable for their actions. But I also ask us, as adults, to hold ourselves accountable because students are watching us as well — what we say and what we do,” he continued.
This 35-second video, according to a statement made on Facebook by the Rocky Mountain NAACP, had “two intoxicated young women displaying blatant disregard of Black people by repeatedly using the n-word while another young woman films it, is disheartening.”
A spokesperson for the chapter explained that this latest incident comes only two weeks after younger students cackled at a video on the school bus, where one student called other Black students “cotton pickers,” the N-word and said he hated their skin color and how they talked.
The students in both videos are reportedly enrolled at middle schools within the district. The first video showcased students from West Middle School, which is almost 71 percent white, while the second video indicated that the students involved attend Campus Middle School, which is almost 60 percent white.
Parents like Samantha Schacher also said there is an issue with racism in the district that requires immediate action.
“We are collectively concerned and deeply saddened by the recent anti-Black racism prevalent at both West (Middle School) and Campus (Middle School) specifically, but we know this is a systemic issue within the district,” Schacher said at the meeting, according to the Centennial Citizen Independent.
Jennifer Miller, another concerned parent, asserted that the district should enhance transparency regarding its efforts to address explicit racism while safeguarding students’ privacy. She proposed the implementation of a policy to inform parents about such incidents, emphasizing the importance of open communication in addressing the issue.
“This enables more constructive dialogue and reduces speculation, rumors and a proliferation of fear and anger stemming from lack of information,” Miller said.
The Rocky Mountain NAACP says that the toxic culture of racism in the area “has gone too far.”
“We are calling for the parents of these young people to come meet with Rocky Mountain NAACP,” the group said in a press release. “We will not tolerate this behavior and it is time for the parents to come forward to apologize by action and word.”
The civil rights organization hopes that “the parents and young people” not only meet with them but volunteer with them to move forward their “fight towards equity.”
A spokesperson from the local NAACP is still trying to get in touch with the families to press for an apology.
