Texas students detail racism, hostility at schools, push for change
Black students were harassed due to their race and students with disabilities were pushed out of school. Now their stories are gaining attention and fueling their fight for reform.
By Willis Jacobson, National Center for Youth Law Media Relations Manager
They sound like accounts from the past — like traumatic burned-in-the-brain memories shared by a grandparent, or like unsettling scenes depicted in an old documentary or recounted in a history book.
A 13-year-old Black student is harassed so deeply by his classmates and others, including being called slurs like “cotton picker,” “monkey,” and the n-word, that he is effectively forced out of school. Another Black student is singled out and is the lone person charged with a felony after filming a fight between white students, and then is repeatedly denied the supports to which he is rightfully entitled, ultimately leading to his incarceration.
Sadly, these stories aren’t from some bygone era. They’re among many disturbing claims that reflect the modern experiences of current and recent students in Texas’s Bonham and Corpus Christi school districts. They’re also now the fuel powering these brave young students’ fight for reform that values students, respects their civil rights and prioritizes their well-being.
The students, represented by counsel that includes the National Center for Youth Law, filed complaints against the districts this month, alleging discrimination against students with disabilities and students of color and the creation of a hostile environment that pushes students out of school. The complaints were filed with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Texas Education Agency.
The complaints (both of which are available to read here) highlight the racist practices and horrifying inequities that still exist within our school systems — including an over-reliance on truancy courts and truancy fines for parents that largely forces kids off campuses and into the school-to-prison pipeline — as well as the harsh consequences that children of color and those with disabilities continue to pay for these injustices.
Fortunately, the students’ stories are no longer being ignored. Several journalists and media outlets have reported on the complaints, producing articles that both spotlight some of the troubling experiences detailed by students and their families and that also raise important concerns around education and justice policies and practices.
One of the students and his mother shared with KXII News the following heartbreaking comments, which were republished in this well-done piece by Atlanta Black Star:
“A bunch of people were saying the n-word. I got tired of it, to the point where everyone kept saying it and I said stop, and they just keep doing it,” [the student] explained.
His mother also shared how she attempted to talk to her son about the discrimination from his white peers.
“No matter what they call you, no matter what they say to you, no matter all the hurtful things, whether it’s an adult or child, anybody, you just have to take it, I’m sorry, son,” she said.
No parent should have to have this conversation with their child.
The students, with their filed complaints, are seeking meaningful reform. Among a long list of requested remedies, in addition to damages paid to impacted students, are for the Department of Justice to require Bonham Independent School District to adopt and implement trainings and policies that instruct staff, police and administrators on handling issues related to discrimination and addressing complaints by students who have been traumatized or faced discrimination.
The racial harassment in schools is happening in the context of a community where racial inequity, unfortunately, appears to be the norm. According to reporting by the Texas Observer, the Bonham Police Department has around 30 employees in a city of 10,700 people. None of the officers are Black.
The students seek similar reforms in Corpus Christi: Improved systems of evaluating and serving students with disabilities, policies that ensure students aren’t referred to truancy court for disability-related absences, interventions to support students with disabilities, and improved training for staff, among others.
It’s a shame that students in 2024 still suffer from so many of the same biases and correctable policies that plagued previous generations.
The mother of one of the students named in the complaint eloquently expressed this frustration, captured in this excellent piece by the Texas Observer:
“The sad thing is, I’m saying the same prayer for my son that parents a hundred years ago were saying for theirs. I just want my child and other children to be treated equally. They shouldn’t have to walk through life feeling like they don’t belong.”
Willis Jacobson is the Media Relations Manager at the National Center for Youth Law. A member of NCYL’s Communications team, Willis strives to elevate NCYL’s work in the media and ensure that coverage involving NCYL’s focus areas — or any topics involving young people — is accurate, respectful and shared through an appropriate cultural and racial-justice lens.
