Racism at Howard
Jasmine Wilson '22 Managing Editor
As the school year begins to settle back into a steady rhythm, racial discrimination threatens to disrupt the equilibrium. Recently, two separate TikTok videos depicting Howard High students saying the “n-word” surfaced online. One individual is currently a sophomore while the other is a junior. While these occurrences could have been important learning opportunities for students and staff, Howard High administration decided to tiptoe around the issue through a number of tone-deaf attempts at reconciliation.
The initial administrative action taken in the days following the incidents was frankly pitiful. On September 24th, Mr. Novak went on the announcements and stated that rather than expressing hatred by outwardly discriminating against certain groups, students with prejudiced views should “keep that to [themselves].” He continued, “We wish we could erase the hate that you feel but you know what, that’s hard to do in life. But I can tell you this, it does no good for our community when you put that message of hate out there.” It is alarming to think that our principal didn’t simply denounce being racist and instead chose to prioritize the school’s image.
Within days of the TikTok posts surfacing, a staff meeting was held where members of the Howard High faculty were given the opportunity to discuss the recent events with Sharon Itakpe, president of the Black Student Union (BSU). Following this meeting, an Instagram post detailing the BSU’s stance on the events was uploaded on @howardbsu: “Discrimination is contrary to our beliefs and hurtful to our community. We need to do everything in our power to end it. The BSU stands and will fight for equity and the inclusion of all students.” Administration then decided to host a schoolwide town hall in tandem with the BSU and the African Student Association (ASA) in order to address the concerns of the student body. Unfortunately, the town hall proved to be yet another devastating disappointment in terms of its execution and effectiveness.
The town hall, which took place on September 29th, was initially devised as a direct response to the racist social media posts. Due to a lack of organization, it was bastardized into a tangle of avoidant language and dodging of responsibility. As power shifted from the BSU and ASA to school administration, the focus of the meeting shifted from racism to general discrimination. As stated by Mr. Novak following the conclusion of the town hall, “It wasn’t just issues of race, but it was about the culture of our school, the challenges we’re facing coming back in a pandemic.” Conflating broad issues like the pandemic with racism is harmful and invalidating to black students and other students of color.
Many students who attended the event were also disappointed in the lack of direction present. According to Itakpe, “It was unorganized and did not tackle the main issue. It also did not give space for everyone to voice their opinions while everyone listened due to the way it was set up.” The event was messy and seemed to be thrown together last-minute, as administrators struggled to accommodate all the students who wished to attend. Pure, unadulterated chaos exterminated all hope of fostering any authentic communication between students.
The unsatisfactory ending to this fiasco has left a bad taste in the mouths of many black students at Howard, including myself. The lack of accountability and avoidance of the topic at hand leads me to believe that the voices of black students at Howard are not valued. Whenever incidents of racism are brought to the administration’s attention, they are not dealt with adequately. Students are dismissed, and the administration chooses to pretend that such incidents never occurred and move on as soon as possible. Racial issues within the school are left to simmer in a forgotten pot which will eventually boil over if these problems are not addressed.
It is clear that students are frustrated with administrators’ handling of racial events. According to ASA president Kiara Betanga, “I think that administration needs to stop sugarcoating this stuff and give out harsher consequences.” Itakpe believes that institutional changes to Howard County Public School System policy should be enacted: “There should be mandatory meetings in which students of different classes can come together and safely express their feelings… There should be a policy change to the discriminatory policy in the Board of Education [defining] proper consequences that should be taken against… racial discrimination.”
As a student who is affected by these issues, I can attest to the fact that a simple slap on the wrist is not proportionate to the lasting trauma that racism instills. I believe that a true no-tolerance policy outlining consistent and specific punishments should be enacted, but education is also a key component in squandering racist behaviors at the source: the required high school Social Studies curriculum should include a course on racism and its modern impacts. As mentioned by Itakpe, town halls led by groups such as the BSU and ASA could be beneficial as well. While various courses of action are at administration’s fingertips, one fact is certain: If the administration wants all students to feel safe and respected while walking the halls of Howard, more productive methods of handling racism are necessary.
The initial administrative action taken in the days following the incidents was frankly pitiful. On September 24th, Mr. Novak went on the announcements and stated that rather than expressing hatred by outwardly discriminating against certain groups, students with prejudiced views should “keep that to [themselves].” He continued, “We wish we could erase the hate that you feel but you know what, that’s hard to do in life. But I can tell you this, it does no good for our community when you put that message of hate out there.” It is alarming to think that our principal didn’t simply denounce being racist and instead chose to prioritize the school’s image.
Within days of the TikTok posts surfacing, a staff meeting was held where members of the Howard High faculty were given the opportunity to discuss the recent events with Sharon Itakpe, president of the Black Student Union (BSU). Following this meeting, an Instagram post detailing the BSU’s stance on the events was uploaded on @howardbsu: “Discrimination is contrary to our beliefs and hurtful to our community. We need to do everything in our power to end it. The BSU stands and will fight for equity and the inclusion of all students.” Administration then decided to host a schoolwide town hall in tandem with the BSU and the African Student Association (ASA) in order to address the concerns of the student body. Unfortunately, the town hall proved to be yet another devastating disappointment in terms of its execution and effectiveness.
The town hall, which took place on September 29th, was initially devised as a direct response to the racist social media posts. Due to a lack of organization, it was bastardized into a tangle of avoidant language and dodging of responsibility. As power shifted from the BSU and ASA to school administration, the focus of the meeting shifted from racism to general discrimination. As stated by Mr. Novak following the conclusion of the town hall, “It wasn’t just issues of race, but it was about the culture of our school, the challenges we’re facing coming back in a pandemic.” Conflating broad issues like the pandemic with racism is harmful and invalidating to black students and other students of color.
Many students who attended the event were also disappointed in the lack of direction present. According to Itakpe, “It was unorganized and did not tackle the main issue. It also did not give space for everyone to voice their opinions while everyone listened due to the way it was set up.” The event was messy and seemed to be thrown together last-minute, as administrators struggled to accommodate all the students who wished to attend. Pure, unadulterated chaos exterminated all hope of fostering any authentic communication between students.
The unsatisfactory ending to this fiasco has left a bad taste in the mouths of many black students at Howard, including myself. The lack of accountability and avoidance of the topic at hand leads me to believe that the voices of black students at Howard are not valued. Whenever incidents of racism are brought to the administration’s attention, they are not dealt with adequately. Students are dismissed, and the administration chooses to pretend that such incidents never occurred and move on as soon as possible. Racial issues within the school are left to simmer in a forgotten pot which will eventually boil over if these problems are not addressed.
It is clear that students are frustrated with administrators’ handling of racial events. According to ASA president Kiara Betanga, “I think that administration needs to stop sugarcoating this stuff and give out harsher consequences.” Itakpe believes that institutional changes to Howard County Public School System policy should be enacted: “There should be mandatory meetings in which students of different classes can come together and safely express their feelings… There should be a policy change to the discriminatory policy in the Board of Education [defining] proper consequences that should be taken against… racial discrimination.”
As a student who is affected by these issues, I can attest to the fact that a simple slap on the wrist is not proportionate to the lasting trauma that racism instills. I believe that a true no-tolerance policy outlining consistent and specific punishments should be enacted, but education is also a key component in squandering racist behaviors at the source: the required high school Social Studies curriculum should include a course on racism and its modern impacts. As mentioned by Itakpe, town halls led by groups such as the BSU and ASA could be beneficial as well. While various courses of action are at administration’s fingertips, one fact is certain: If the administration wants all students to feel safe and respected while walking the halls of Howard, more productive methods of handling racism are necessary.