The Santa Clarita chapter of the NAACP held a press conference Tuesday to address a social media video continuing racial slurs posted by local high school students.

The NAACP, clergy, and community leaders gathered together at the William S. Hart Union High School District office on Tuesday to discuss the impact that making, posting and sharing this video has had on students and our Santa Clarita community at large.

“We will not sit quietly and passively and tolerate either overt or open racism in this city that we live and share with you,” said Valerie Bradford, president of NAACP Santa Clarita. “Racist, divisive acts are being perpetrated by residents of Santa Clarita, and are being tolerated by residents of Santa Clarita, because your silence is your complicity.”

In the video posted to social media, three apparently non-black teen girls are seen driving in a school parking lot and singing the lyrics to the song “Hate” by Khlil4mb ft. zee!, much of which consists of repeating a racial slur.

“When a white person uses the n-word, it carries a historial weight of racism. It is still to this day loaded with violence and hurt and trauma,” Bradford said. “It is a word that was invented and used at a time when every Black person was whipped, and chained and raped and lynched… It is not a word that they can use. Because when it comes from their mouth, it is a word that is oppression.”

The NAACP’s stance on the use of the n-word, by anyone of any race is that the word should die, as underlined by the ceremonial “funeral” held by the organization for the term in 2007, according to Bradford

Four students from Valencia High School, Promiz Thomas, Favor Ike, Antonia Esi, and Maya Yiadom, all members of the Black Student Union, spoke up about their experiences on campus.

“‘You’re smart for a Black girl’ has been a phrase that multiple students, as well as the people who are standing up here with me today have heard being said,” Thomas, a junior at Valencia, said.

“Walking in the hallways of Valencia High School and hearing the voices in this video echoing from phones to mouths is an act of violence we cannot accept either,’ Ezi said. “Yes, I know it is not possible to eradicate racism in the world. It’s not possible to eradicate racism in the U.S., Santa Clarita Valley or Valencia High School. But we have to do everything in our power to make sure that every Black student feels safe, valued, respected and heard. Everywhere. Just as their non-Black counterparts are.”

A debate on social media has arisen about the correct handling of the issue. Some commenters argue that non-Black students are simply “copying” their Black peers, or that the music that the teens listen to is to blame. Others have argued that the incident has been blown out of proportion in response to a “foolish” decision by a group of children.

“This is an issue that does not just apply to the so-called ‘African American community,’ (it’s) your future,” said Pastor Julius Harper of Santa Clarita Christian Fellowship, a more than 25-year resident of Santa Clarita. “The name of this valley needs to be a place where people want to live. The last thing you want to have is Valencia and Santa Clarita known as a place that harbors racism. It’s a pocketbook matter, it’s a public matter, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican or a Democrat, doesn’t matter where you come from. We all need to pull together and make sure that no child in our school system is made to feel unwelcome.”
Several Hart Board members, Bob Jensen, Linda Storli and Cherise Moore, also attended the event.

“To have this happen on the tails of the celebration that we had of our heritage, it is truly heartbreaking. But to see the courage they are demonstrating, to be here speaking and telling their stories. Their story is our story, their history is our history, and what we do today will determine what their future is,” Moore said. “We have to stand together, (we have) to do it for them, they are our future.”

All of those gathered during the conference encouraged Santa Clarita community members to participate in what Moore called an admittedly “uncomfortable” conversation about racism, taking the confrontation outside of the classrooms and to their congregations, their dinner tables, their friendly gatherings.

“We cannot accept this kind of blatant racism or even non-blatant racism anymore,” said Rev. Christopher Montella of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. “You can see the collar on my neck, I’m standing here as a Christian priest. We make a baptismal covenant when we’re baptised and a part of that covenant is to strive for justice and peace among all people, and to respect the dignity of every human being. There’s nothing ‘woke’ about that, there’s nothing even particularly Christian about that. That’s basic human decency.”

The three girls in the offending video have been identified as students of Hart District schools; Valencia, West Ranch, and one of the district’s independent charter schools, according to Hart District Superintendent Mike Kuhlman.

“The language in these posts is unacceptable. The casual manner in which these terms are thrown around is unacceptable. The Hart District will not condone this type of hate speech, and we have taken proactive steps to ensure that it is our intention to promote an equitable, safe and inclusive environment for all of our students,” Kuhlman shared during the press conference.

Disciplinary action has been taken for the three students in question, however the specifics have been kept confidential as the students in question are minors, according to Kuhlman.

“In the end, it is our hope that the assignment of consequences both sends a message

that racism will not be tolerated, while also providing a path for young people who have made serious mistakes to learn and grow into the kind of citizens that we can all be proud of,” Kuhlman said.

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