A lawsuit filed on behalf of a Black high school student in California alleges that he was subjected to a racially hostile environment at his school in which other students would openly invoke racist tropes against him in full view of faculty members.
The complaint alleges that the student, who attends Oaks Christian School in Los Angeles County, suffered a lengthy period of intense, racist bullying from his peers, the Ventura County Star reports.
The student’s name and age are not listed in the suit, but the complaint states that he is currently a senior at the school.
The suit lists several incidents the student suffered during the four years of his high school education at Oaks Christian, including when other students would repeatedly call him the N-word, ask to use the N-word around him, and use other racial slurs like “Monkeython,” “Darkathon,” and “Blackethan” to refer to other Black students.
The complaint also recounted when students would ask him, “Where are the police?” and “How is he walking around freely?” when passing him in the halls. His peers would tease him if he ate food or engaged in activities perceived as stereotypical for Black Americans. In one instance, students threw watermelon candies at him, and another student who ate a piece of candy in front of him said, “Too bad there is no chicken flavor for you,” according to the suit.
Another student once held a piece of fried chicken over his head and said, “Here, I know you people like this.”
During his sophomore year, some students downloaded an app called “Pocket Whip,” which made whipping noises, and would allegedly use the app around Black students.
That same year, as the school was preparing to teach its sophomores a slavery lesson in U.S. history classes, the vice principal pulled the Black student aside, told him how “difficult” the topic would be, and warned about “jokesters” in the class who might blurt out inappropriate jokes. The vice principal told the student to “brace for it” rather than take measures to ensure he nor any other Black students would be subjected to racist taunts, the suit states.
Several students also allegedly once told him a specific date and time that they would “lynch him.”
The suit notes that some of these incidents occurred in front of several teachers and faculty members who failed to take action and punish the offending students. Some faculty members would even use “racially charged language” in the classroom, which only perpetuated the racist harassment and environment, according to the complaint.
In his junior year, some students held a mock slave auction in the cafeteria and asked the plaintiff what his height and physical abilities were to determine his “selling price.” When the plaintiff did not answer, they made up information about his physical traits and pretended to sell him to a white student.
That auction resulted in the expulsion of three students. The student’s lawyer, Inga Sanders, told the Ventura County Star that the disciplinary measure was taken only after the Black student’s family pressured school administrators.
“This is atrocious, for lack of a better word,” Sanders said. “This is something that would break most children his age.”
The school explained that the students involved were initially suspended due to the auction incident and then “immediately and permanently removed from the school” after an investigation. In a statement about the lawsuit, the school’s attorneys said that no other incidents were reported after the auction.
“Oaks Christian School does not tolerate racism or discrimination among its faculty, staff, or student communities, and while these actions of student-on-student harassment are unacceptable, and were swiftly and firmly addressed, the actions of a handful of students do not reflect the culture of Oaks Christian School or our broader community,” the school’s statement said. “To this end, Oaks Christian will continue to aggressively address any forms of discrimination in its school community whatsoever or wherever they may arise.”
The suit states that due to the emotional trauma and mental anguish the student suffered at Oaks Christian, he has been required to undergo therapy.
“I felt alone like nobody could help me, so I went through this every day for years,” the student said, according to the complaint.
Shortly after George Floyd’s murder in 2020, school alumni formed a petition called the “Black Oaks Christian Alumni and Allies Against Racism,” which included demands for more Black teachers and diversity training. It garnered more than 8,000 signatures and drew several stories from Black Oaks Christian alumni who recounted their experiences with racism at the school.
The complaint alleges that Oaks Christian violated the plaintiff’s civil rights and was negligent in its hiring, training, and supervision of its staff and negligent in the infliction of emotional distress.
Oaks Christian School is a private, non-denominational institution that currently enrolls approximately 1,700 students in grades four to 12 and charges $42,000 per year in tuition. The suit describes the school’s student makeup as “predominantly white.” According to Niche, the student population is 53 percent white, 9 percent Hispanic, and 8 percent Black. More than 14 percent of other students are of an “unknown ethnicity.”
