NAACP, Lubbock and Slaton families challenge resolutions condemning racism

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LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) — The Lubbock and Slaton families on Thursday challenged resolutions passed by the Lubbock Cooper and Slaton school districts condemning racism, alongside civil rights activists from across the state and nation.

At a meeting at the Patterson Library, and at another a few hours later hosted by the NAACP at the Mae Simmons Community Center, parents and activists called the districts’ responses too little, too late.

They added that with the coming months after the first allegations of racism in the districts, these resolutions were passed to save face – with one calling them rhetorical frills on cheap paper.

You made these resolutions because you knew we were coming. It was too little, too late. It should have been done months and Sundays ago when this issue first came to your attention, said Candice Matthews, vice president of the Texas Coalition of Black Democrats.

While parents said they’re glad the districts recognize there’s a problem, more needs to be done.

We don’t believe anything they say because they don’t act on what they promise, parent Shardae McGaha said.

Civil rights activists at the meetings, some from across Texas and one from across the country, called for litigation, legislation and agitation.

It is our intention, to improve the legislation, to make it not permissive to have state or district-wide anti-bullying policies, but to make it mandatory, said Judge Morris Overstreet, former judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. There’s nothing wrong with requiring every school district in Texas to adopt district-wide anti-bullying policies and procedures.

Lubbock Cooper’s mother, Tracy Kemp, says the district blatantly lied in its resolution and says she and other parents have yet to hear from administrators.

They said there had been no complaints of discrimination this school year, and when I filed this with [Superintendent] Keith Bryants’ office on the side, he said no complaints had been filed with the council. However, complaints have been filed against schools in that district, so it’s the same thing, Kemp said.

Civil rights attorney David Henderson worked on the federal complaint filed with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights on behalf of district students and families. It says that if you take federal money, you must follow federal guidelines, including the prohibition against discrimination based on race. He says they’ve filed the complaint, obtained consent forms from the families and are waiting for federal investigators to start the case.

Once they get started, I expect them to take our 30+ pages of complaints, look at everything we’ve alleged, and start asking questions. This process will take a long time because they have a lot to review, Henderson said.

He says the investigation should not prevent school administrators from communicating with students who have been bullied or racially harassed and their families.

They don’t have their hands tied at all. Because even though the investigation begins, they still have students in their schools, Henderson said.

At the meetings, a few criticized Slaton for canceling school on Thursday and Friday.

It’s not a protest, it’s a cry for help. It’s a call for change, you know. We do not promote violence. We’re just asking for accountability, said JaQuatta Manahan, Slaton’s parent.

I’ve never seen a school district have the guts to claim an affinity with Dr. Kings National Day as a false justification to cover up their cowardice, said Todd Yeary, former executive director of the Rainbow Push Coalition.

Several of the families are creating a new group, Parents Against Racism, to support families who have faced discrimination and connect them to resources.

Or if you just need someone to confide in, because sometimes it’s extremely frustrating. There were a lot of nights where I cried and was frustrated and cursed and all that. And I know how it is, so we just want to extend that to the community, Kemp said.

After the meetings on Thursday afternoon, several of the same parents and activists spoke at the Slaton board meeting – including a student who shared her own experience of bullying. Some parents have called on Superintendent Jim Andrus to resign, accusing him of lying about the timeline of reported bullying cases. They asked the board to include parents in any further discussions about race-based bullying.

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