Van Horn walkout is a message to the adults: Black students say you aren’t listening

Independence School District students who say Black students have been “marginalized, targeted and discriminated against” for years at Van Horn High School walked out of class Friday morning in protest.

And the source of the problems, as it often is, is a breakdown in communication — which led to feelings of disrespect.

Students said they’ve complained “many times” about racial slurs used in schools and discrimination against students of color.

“But there never seems to be any consequences,” said Erika Parrish, senior and president of the Black Student Union. “The school leadership wants our voices to be silent,” she said. “They don’t hear us. They don’t see us.”

Students had a chance to make themselves heard and seen by way of a video they made about Black history and what it means to be young and Black in America today.

But for the second year in a row, school officials would not allow them to show the video at a school assembly. Thus the protest. One way or another, Black students were going to make their voices heard.

Friday morning, a diverse group of about 100 students gathered outside the school waving signs — “BLM is not political,” “Protect our kids” — and chanting, “One family, one fight.”

Just days before, the BSU wanted to show their video at an all-student assembly, school officials said they could not do so, Parrish said. School officials said the students making the video didn’t follow proper procedure.

Assistant Principal Sean Saunders said he had not yet seen this year’s video, and since students were nearing final testing week, there probably wouldn’t be time to approve the video and schedule an assembly.

“But we did not tell them no,” Saunders said. OK, but when you shut down a key project by Black students wanting to tell their story for the second year in a row, what message do you think they’ll take from that?

If Saunders, who is Black and a BSU sponsor, was aware that last year’s video was not shown, you would think he’d want to make doubly sure those student voices would get heard this year.

Last year, BSU students were told they could not show their video “because it did not fit within the parameters outlined for them,” said Megan Murphy, the school district spokesperson.

School says it can’t divulge disciplinary actions

The video is only the latest in a series of issues, according to Parrish. Students of color have heard racial slurs used in school and saw a student walking around the building wearing a jacket with the Confederate flag, Parrish said. Black students have been prohibited from wearing head wraps, “even though head wraps are part of our culture,” she said. “We complain but nothing gets done about it.”

Saunders said the school “has dealt with” racial slurs being used but for student and personnel privacy reasons they can’t say what, if any, disciplinary actions were taken.

Parrish said students know they could face consequences for the walkout. “We know they can get us for truancy, but we aren’t worried because this is something we need to do,” Parrish said. “It is our right to protest out here. It’s cold today but we are going to be here all day and our hearts will keep us warm.”

Van Horn, where 15% of students are Black, about 40% white and 34 % Hispanic, is the most diverse school in Independence. The district overall has seen a significant demographic shift away from the white majority in the last decade. Last week, Independence voters elected the district’s first ever Black school board member, Anthony Mondaine.

No students should have to protest to get teachers and principals to pay attention when they say they do not feel protected from discrimination in school. That needs to be a priority for school officials. If it’s not, adults are not doing their jobs.

If school officials are listening to students, they heard what we heard: that it’s time to do what’s necessary to create an environment where students feel safe and can concentrate on learning.

This story was originally published April 8, 2022 at 3:41 PM.