Dec 5, 2024 Story by: Editor
During February 2022, two 12-year-old Black boys at different junior high schools within the Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD) endured racist bullying, sparking outrage and legal action from their mothers, who accused the district of failing to protect their children in a city where African Americans are a small minority.
This troubling situation is filled with cruel irony. In June 2020, amidst the Black Lives Matter movement, SBUSD adopted a “Resolution in Support of Black Santa Barbara Youth,” declaring, “We do not tolerate hate or racism and must respond swiftly and decisively when we encounter intolerance, inequity, and bias on our campuses.” Yet, less than two years later, incidents unfolded that starkly contradicted these commitments.
In one instance, Latino classmates at Santa Barbara Junior High mimicked George Floyd’s killing by pressing their knees against a Black student’s neck. Shortly afterward, at La Colina Junior High, a white student created a TikTok video comparing Black students to monkeys, accompanied by an offensive song and the N-word.
Mothers Leeandra Shalhoob and Katherine McCullough, in their lawsuit filed in August 2022 and later expanded in February 2023, allege these attacks were part of a longstanding pattern of racist bullying that SBUSD failed to address effectively. The lawsuit seeks reforms, damages, and a jury trial, as mediation attempts failed in late 2022.
Despite the district’s awareness of these incidents, the mothers claim teachers and administrators failed to act adequately. “It’s difficult to put a dollar amount on wanting someone to do something right,” said Shalhoob. She added, “I just don’t want anyone at Santa Barbara Unified School District ever again to be able to say, ‘I didn’t know what to do.’”
Community advocacy groups such as Gateway Educational Services and Healing Justice Santa Barbara rallied parents and students to speak out about the pervasive racism at school board meetings. McCullough noted a shared outrage over the lack of transparency, with students recounting how they were regularly subjected to racist slurs, taunts, and comparisons to animals.
In response, the school board commissioned an independent racial climate audit, involving surveys and focus groups with over 6,000 participants, including staff, families, and students. The April 2023 report revealed that students felt racist bullying was ignored and normalized by staff. One student remarked, “It’s kind of normal to come to school and feel like it’s going to be a racist day today.” Staff admitted to lacking clear guidance on addressing such incidents, with many defaulting to reporting issues rather than directly intervening.
Community advocate Shevon Hoover, who has witnessed anti-Black incidents affecting her son for years, noted the district and white teachers seemed disconnected from the severity of the problem. About 67% of SBUSD teachers are white, and some expressed uncertainty about their ability to lead anti-racist efforts.
Following the report, the district implemented reforms, including a reporting app for students and staff training to handle racist incidents effectively. “We now have a policy,” said school board president Wendy Sims-Moten. “For the first time, we have a procedure that addresses how to respond and follow up with families.”
However, for Shalhoob and McCullough, these efforts fall short. McCullough’s son, who struggles with dyslexia and anxiety, has experienced severe depression since the racist TikTok video. Shalhoob’s son, meanwhile, faces ongoing ridicule at school, leaving her feeling helpless. “I feel like it’s just taught him…how f-up the system is,” she said.
Shalhoob criticized the notion that teachers need special training to protect Black students from obvious harm, such as racial slurs or acts mimicking violence. “You just need to be a human,” she asserted. Source: Lasentinel
