KC mayor responds to racist incidents in area schools

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The Kansas City mayor responded on Twitter Tuesday morning to recent racist incidents in area schools, saying more race-critical education in schools was needed.

With another racism scandal in a school in the area every week, it is quite clear that instead of removing race from education and marginalizing the history of everyone in our area, we must de critically empowering our students to fight and call racism, Mayor Quinton Lucas wrote on Twitter.

A photo circulated over the weekend of an Olathe South High School student asking a St. James Academy student to come home with a racist sign that read: If I were black I would choose cotton but I am white so I choose you for HOCO.

Principals of both schools said they were investigating the incident, which sparked outrage over the weekend.

Imagine you are a black child in this school. A black parent who worked hard to get out so your kids could have a good education, but fearing it would devalue their humanity, Lucas said.

Earlier this month, a petition calling for a return to slavery was posted online by students at Park Hill South High School. Members of the public spoke out at a school board meeting days later, calling for action.

It would be one thing if it was unique around here, but sadly it isn’t, Lucas said. We will look after these children and their families because none of them should have to face bigotry when walking through the school door.

In July, the Lees Summit School Board reinstated a teacher and coach, going against the superintendents’ recommendation to fire him. When filing a disciplinary report, the teacher repeated a racial insult to a student, which he wrote for using the insult.

Around the same time, a science teacher at Harrisonville High School was fired by the school board after being accused of making several inappropriate and racist comments.

Last spring, the Olathe school board unanimously agreed to fire Olathe North high school baseball head coach Pete Flood after he allegedly used a racial slur against a black player.

And in April, officials at Pembroke Hill School opened an investigation to find out who wrote KKK on the side of a student desk a few months after a swastika was discovered in a classroom on International Day. of remembrance of the Holocaust.

Stars Anna Spoerre, Aarn Torres and Sarah Ritter contributed to this story.

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Cortlynn Stark covers Town Hall with a focus on fairness for The Kansas City Star. She joined The Star in January 2020 as a breaking reporter. Cortlynn studied journalism and Spanish at Missouri State University.

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