Hurt, anger and disappointment were emotions felt by Black students and staff when a community message was sent out on May 20 detailing an incident of racism that had occurred at school.
On Wednesday, May 15, a staff member discovered that a student had printed hundreds of sheets of paper with the n-word on it. This staff member reported the incident to a school administrator, who was then obligated to fill out MCPS form 226-5 (Hate Bias Incident Reporting). According to the MCPS Hate Bias Guidelines, when an allegation is made, the completion of that form must be the next step taken. If this form had been filled out, Principal Doug Nelson would have been notified and an investigation would have started shortly after.
However, this administrator, who cannot be publicly identified, failed to report this allegation properly, and instead, on Friday, May 17, another staff member discovered more papers that had been printed with the n-word. This staff member went to Lindsey Vance, English teacher and restorative justice coach, to report this incident. Together they went to Ray Blankenship, the security team leader, who took over and reported the incident properly.
During this process, it was discovered that the administrator had known two days prior and failed to follow the correct Hate Bias reporting procedures. “We want to make sure that all acts of hate/bias, including Anti Black racism, are never neglected again. Silence is violence after all. When we go to school, away from the safety of our homes and families, it cannot just be a select few adults, who care about our safety and well-being. Students should feel secure that all adults in the building will advocate and protect them when their humanity is under attack. It is shameful that it took two days for an investigation to begin,” junior and co-president of the Black Student Union Leila Khademian said.
This incident caused deep harm to the school community, eliciting emotions from students and staff alike. “When you’re part of a marginalized group and your presence is very small, these incidents can make you feel really unsafe, a little suspicious, on edge and in pain,” English teacher Dominique Parker said.
After news of the incident spread throughout the community, members of the Black Student Union and Black staff met with Nelson to share their feelings and suggest the next steps that should be taken. “I was definitely peeved that not everyone had received the community message. But after meeting with Mr. Nelson and speaking about how we can improve on these things and work together moving forward (and cleared up the fact that the miscommunication was indeed an accident), I feel as though that’s a step in the right direction,” Khademian said.
One reason incidents like this can occur is carelessness about the impact of the n-word. “Part of the problem is the use and acceptance of the n-word at this school. We need to find a way to communicate to everyone that its use is unacceptable under any and all circumstances,” Parker said.
Although this event occurred near the end of the year, the response will not be lessened or diminished in any way because of timing. “Over the summer I am confident that Mr. Nelson and the Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) will look at the feedback we have received and use that to inform their plans for next year. I just want to emphasize this is not an issue that is going away. We will combat hate with education about the harm it causes, not just for Black students and staff, but for all groups that feel marginalized,” Vance said.
The Black Student Union also has plans to spread news of this event throughout the county and inform people of the harm it caused. “Apart from posting the community message on our Instagram, BSU has been working closely with Mr. Michael Williams (founder of the MoCo Minority Scholars Program branch) to start a social media campaign with our ‘One Thousand Pages, One Thousand Wounds’ post to bring attention to the situation and the severity of it. We want to elevate it as much as possible and are working with BSUs and MSPs across the county and media outlets to make sure that as many people know about this as possible,” Khademian said.
Leadership of the Black Student Union testified at a Board of Education meeting on June 11. Co-presidents Khademian and junior Teramoluwa Taiwo, along with sophomore and treasurer Charlie Rollins, testified in front of the board, calling for action and sharing their experiences. Board members called out the students who testified, praising them for their bravery and stating that they had no idea an incident like this had occurred. Board members Angela Wolff, Shebra Evans and Grace Rivera-Oven all echoed similar sentiments of concern that an incident like this occurred in MCPS, and said that they want to see action in the wake of this event.
As for what students can expect in the fall, Nelson shared what is in the works to combat hate bias. “Hate bias and the school’s response has been a topic which was worked on all year. There have been multiple trainings for staff and initiatives brought to the school to continue to improve on how we respond to incidences of hate and bias. Moving forward, I, along with the administrative team, will meet with BSU Leadership in the coming days to identify their focus for the administrators. This is important as it will impact summer planning and work moving us into the next school year. I am also working with the Equity Office to bring resources and central office staff to work with the Wootton team,” Nelson said.
When contacted for comment, Nelson said he was unable to share the consequences that the student at fault and initial administrator received.
