The Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt a resolution targeting hate speech after black teachers and students testified that racial slurs and harassment had gone unaddressed on campuses for years.
Bruce Brown, a black LAUSD teacher with 15 of his 28 years in education spent in the district, told the board students kicked his classroom door and fled, leaving banana peels and slurs behind. He said he was never given a hate speech policy to work with, so he wrote one himself.
“Students have kicked my door and ran away, leaving banana peels, N-words, saying things that are extremely bigoted,” Brown said.
Brown also said administrators hit him with racially motivated disciplinary write-ups even when witnesses and surveillance footage backed his version of events.
“I have to say that because as a black man from top to bottom, I don’t like when people try to explain what we’re dealing with. So I’m here to tell you here and now, the word is not acceptable.”
Teacher Shelly Castillo said black students confided in her that classmates called them the N-word and “monkeys,” but stayed silent out of fear they wouldn’t be believed or would face retaliation. Castillo said she found the slur written on desks and her own whiteboard, and watched students make monkey gestures at her in class.
“I’ve been appalled to hear the N-word used widely and freely on campuses and even in the classrooms,” Castillo said.
Chloe Claxton, a senior at an LAUSD high school, told the board that students at her predominantly white campus faced little to no consequence for using the slur.
“They’re either given a light warning or they simply ignore it and don’t report it. And when teachers do report the action, school administrators… instead disregard it,” Claxton said.
The Resolution
The measure, introduced by Board Member Karla Griego, calls for additional staff training, updated reference guides, more consistent reporting procedures, and stronger accountability when incidents happen.
“Given the surge in hate crimes across our neighborhoods, it is our duty to reinforce our schools as secure sanctuaries and protective havens for all,” Griego said. “Intimidation, harassment, and bullying fueled by hate speech and racial slurs will not be tolerated within our public schools.”
Superintendent Andrés E. Chait backed the resolution.
“Hate speech, harassment, and discrimination have no place in our schools,” Chait said. “Fostering a culture of respect, inclusion and belonging is not only a personal priority, but a reflection of the values at the very heart of Los Angeles Unified.”
Board President Scott Schmerelson said the district will review its policies so students and employees can more easily recognize and report hate speech.
“Students can only learn when they feel safe and welcome,” Schmerelson said.
Board Member Sherlett Hendy Newbill warned that a vote alone changes nothing.
“Our success cannot be measured simply by the passage of this resolution, but by what happens afterward,” Newbill said.
LAUSD is the nation’s second-largest school district. The resolution follows months of pressure from black educators and community members who said the district had failed to protect staff and students from racial harassment.
