Parents held a rally Tuesday demanding Thornhill Elementary School take action for a threatening message written inside the girls bathroom: “Black lives don’t matter – kill them all,” according to NBC Bay Area. The district responded saying the offensive graffiti had been removed and they are in contact with the police department regarding the incident.
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“”This is unacceptable. This is learned behavior, at home and is a threat to society,” said parent Marya Wright, a Thornhill parent of two students, via NBC. She’s right about the learned behavior. Where do these kids get this language from besides their own household?
According to the report, the school has a 10 percent Black student population and is located in what one parent called a “relatively affluent area.” In other words, a predominantly white school may not have the support for Black kids nor the means to prevent situations like this.
The state superintendent of public instruction, Tony Thurmond, told NBC the concerned parents and school have the support from the state to assist everyone move forward. Wright, however, suggested racism in school isn’t isolated to this incident but is a problem across the Oakland Unified School District.
Read the District’s response from NBC Bay Area:
“This kind of language is unacceptable anywhere in society, especially in our schools. Schools are meant to be heated, welcoming, and inclusive places of learning, where everyone feels protected and loved. This kind of incident erodes that sense of security.
“To facilitate the healing the school community is doing, here are some specific things that we are working on:
Continue to provide anti-racist teachings
District Supported Family Listening Sessions
District escalate in noon supervisor time
Affinity groups for adults supported by OUSD’s Office of Equity
Professional development to support staff
Parents showed a great concern around the safety of their children, per the report. Considering the constant school shootings and spawning of white supremacist shooters, children’s lives are at stake every day because of someone’s hate.
