Alyssah Hall
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Since Daphne and Channing Hawkins have moved to Redlands, they said that their son has experienced “three deeply disturbing racial incidents in just 90 days.”
The first racial incident occurred when a classmate handed their son a note that read: “Your skin is as Black as your future.”
In a second incident, another child told their son: “You should be in a comedy show of Black African monkeys.”
The final incident involved a class assignment given to their son that featured a racist caricature named “Black Pete”, a character portrayed in Black-face in Dutch Christmas tradition.
The Hawkins family reached out to the community for support in demanding accountability and systemic change from the Redlands Unified School District Board on March 11.
Their requests for taking action included signing a letter of support, demanding mandatory zero tolerance anti-racism training for staff and students, and insisting on a full investigation of racist incidents with appropriate consequences to follow.
The Hawkins family called on the community to raise their voice by attending the board meeting to demand justice for children facing such racially-motivated bullying.
During public comment Daphne Hawkins was the first to address the board. She first expressed that she and her husband were not only speaking as parents, but as advocates for justice for not only their children, but for every child in the Redlands Unified School District.
“Since moving [to] Redlands, our son has endured three deeply disturbing racist incidents in the last 90 days…Our children deserve better. And let’s be clear, these are not just words. These are [an] attack on our children’s dignity and their identity,” Hawkins said.
“Also, I will say, Madam, President (Michele Rendler – Trustee Area 2), Trustee Olson (Candy Olson – Trustee Area 5), you made a commitment to put the board resolution on racism on the agenda so that we would have time to speak, and you failed to keep your word,” Hawkins continued. Hawkins confirmed to the board that she will escalate her concerns and go as far as contacting the media and Department of Justice until actions are taken.
Channing Hawkins also spoke out about the injustice faced by his son and the disappointment he had with the board.
“I want to express the sentiment that my wife expressed. I’m disappointed after we had our meeting. Mr. Cabral, board member Rendler and Miss Olson, that you all didn’t get the resolution on the agenda after you committed to the meeting. So, that’s the second time that you all failed me,” Channing Hawkins said.
“We moved here because we thought it was safe. We thought our neighborhood was safe. We thought the community was safe and our kids would have a better opportunity in life. We didn’t realize we would get here and they’d have to draw Black face characters,” Hawkins said ”When we asked to speak to the parents, we were denied that opportunity because that is the values that this community is showing to African Americans.”
Community members Heather and Anna shared a similar story of prejudice within the Redlands school district. There was an incident of racism between Heather’s daughter, Audrey, and Anna’s daughter, Hannah, at an Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP) dance recital last spring. Hannah told Audrey that “they can’t be partners, and she had to stand in the back because people would make fun of them because she was Black.”
“When I dealt with the principal, he was confused as well, and tried to ignore Audrey’s feelings and only tried to be positive while she was sad. I was very aware he was ill-prepared to show compassion and support. It was apparent there needed to be training and more support to help facilitate change. He asked to connect me with the mother, and I did,” Heather said.
Heather said that Anna was hurt, confused and immediately apologetic when she and Heather spoke.
“During the time this incident took place, my daughter, Hannah, witnessed her brother being called Ching Chong, Chong Chang, African monkey and Chinese monkey at school,” Anna explained. “She was afraid to be targeted like her brother, simply because of her skin color. It turned out that her older brother had been subjected to racial slurs since his very first day on campus in first grade, which means the name calling went on for three years.”
Throughout the meeting the Hawkins family had ten people speak in support of their demand for justice for their son and other students. Community members and advocates who showed up included President of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Riverside Branch, Dr. Regina Patton Stell, educational chair of the NAACP Riverside; Dr. Carolyn Murray, president of 100 Black Men of the Inland Empire; Dr. David Morrow, publisher emeritus of the Inland Valley newspaper group; Tommy Morrow; and co-founder and chairwoman of the Common Vision Coalition of Redlands, Maria Whitaker Saucedo.
Farmer, entrepreneur, and advocate Lynn Brown Summers pointed out the contrast in the school board’s mission statement and the racism and injustice within the school district.
The district released a statement to staff and families on March 12, addressing the incidents.
“As many of you are aware, recent incidents of racism involving our African American students and community have been brought to our attention. These reports are deeply troubling, and we want to reassure our students, staff, and community members that we take these matters very seriously,” the statement read.
“As a district, we unequivocally condemn all forms of hate, discrimination, and racism. Our commitment to fostering a safe, inclusive, and respectful learning environment for all students remains steadfast…In support of our school communities, the Multilingual and Family Engagement Department, in collaboration with district leadership, has developed a resource guide designed to assist students and staff navigating concerns related to discrimination and bias.”
Signed by Superintendent of Schools Juan Cabral, the letter noted that the district will continue to follow protocols to address and “thoroughly investigate” these reports and to ensure appropriate measures are taken.
Olson was directly addressed again by Valerie Taber who spoke in support of the Hawkins family. Taber ran against Olson for a board member position in last year’s election and came in second to Olson by a little over 800 votes.
“I don’t think it’s any coincidence that after the recent election, that hateful speech and discriminatory events have begun to increase in our schools, and I do not believe that it is a coincidence that students have been emboldened to say hateful comments to their peers, especially as we have a board member who feels it is appropriate to gloat about DEI protections being removed at a federal level and openly advocates against equity as a concept. To be clear, Olson, you are a part of the problem,” Taber said.
Superintendent Cabral said that it was unacceptable for any of the district’s teachers to choose “Black Pete” to be a part of any activity of the classroom. Cabral said this was addressed immediately by the principal once she was made aware. Cabral shared that he became aware of the incident several weeks after it happened, when he met with the Hawkins family to speak to them about the prior incidents of racist bullying.
Cabral noted that they have gone into the classroom to speak to the class in order to teach the children that that behavior was not okay and recently developed a plan to visit every classroom in order to prevent this from happening. The district also conducted a meeting with the staff on how to identify these behaviors and intervene with students to let them know why it’s not acceptable behavior.
“The bottom line is that it’s not okay for our kids to participate in any kind of hate speech or make each other feel in any way less than and we’re going to do everything we can to continue to teach them that it’s not okay and that they need to act better,” Cabral said.
“It does start with the adults because we are the example…I will hold all of the staff that are under me accountable for also leading by example. I am going to do everything we can as a district to be better. I can assure you of that.”
Information to address bullying can be found by visiting Stop Bullying, a government website managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.