‘A safe place for hate and racism’: Olathe students protest, demand change in district

Dozens of Olathe students and parents protested at school district headquarters Monday evening, demanding officials take stronger steps to eradicate racism they say is rampant in their schools, and issue more serious discipline for discrimination and hate speech.

As many as 50 students, parents and community members gathered and chanted, “No justice, no school” and “Black students matter.” The protest was sparked by Olathe South High School sophomore Kirubel Solomon, who said he was in his metal and jewelry making class this month when three white students — who he said have been targeting and harassing him for months because he is Black — handed him a flat piece of copper with a racial slur and a heart stamped into it.

That’s only the latest in a series of racist incidents, students say. Fellow Olathe South sophomore Jamya Haynes told The Star at the protest that a classmate called her a racial slur a few weeks ago. She reported it to her teacher, who she said didn’t believe her at first.

“They sent our only Black staff member down to talk to me about it. And I don’t even know what happened. I don’t think (the student) got a punishment, because he was back in class the next day,” said Haynes, who is Black. “But at the school, it’s a normalized thing. It’s expected.”

Teresa Foster, who said she graduated from Olathe South last year, held a sign that said “cracker” next to a heart, mimicking the piece of metal Solomon was given by his harassers. Foster said she never had a teacher of color while attending the high school.

“I experienced racism myself at Olathe South,” Foster said. “It’s not right for our future generations to grow up with that.”

Haynes said she has attended Olathe schools since kindergarten and has “never been in a Black teacher’s classroom.”

Protesters shared a list of demands for the district, including firing Olathe South High School Principal Dale Longenecker for a “failure” to properly address racism. They also want the district to initiate an investigation into its own practices to ensure racism is better addressed, and they called for new disciplinary measures against racial discrimination and hate speech, with clear consequences and a process for educating violators on the impact of racism.

In addition, they are pushing for stronger diversity programs and training, a system for students to more easily and confidentially report harassment and discrimination, the hiring of a more diverse workforce, as well as stronger collaboration with students and the community on tackling racial inequities.

School board member and Democratic Kansas state Rep. Brad Boyd, who watched the protest from the parking lot, told The Star that racist incidents, such as students being called slurs, are “being excused away.”

And in response to calls to fire Longenecker, Boyd said there have been multiple racist incidents under the principal’s watch and, “I think something has to be done.”

“Our students’ perspective is their lived reality,” Boyd, one of two Black school board members, said in a text to The Star. “That perspective is shaped by their experiences within our district, good, bad and/or indifferent. They are telling us that they don’t feel valued and respected in spaces where they are expected to learn. That is their reality. We obviously haven’t done enough.

“What is it about the culture in some of our buildings that fosters a safe place for hate and racism?”

Kirubel Solomon, 16, a sophomore at Olathe South High School, says he was subjected to racist harassment by three white classmates that culminated with them handing him a piece of copper with the N-word engraved in it during class on May 4. Solomon is calling for the district to address racism.
Kirubel Solomon, 16, a sophomore at Olathe South High School, says he was subjected to racist harassment by three white classmates that culminated with them handing him a piece of copper with the N-word engraved in it during class on May 4. Solomon is calling for the district to address racism.

Solomon last week went public about the harassment he says he has endured for several months. Solomon said three white classmates have been interrogating him, targeting him because he is Black and calling him racial slurs since the start of the semester.

On May 4, Solomon said the white students finally gave him physical proof of their racism and harassment while he was in his jewelry and metal making class. He said one of the students handed him a flat strip of copper, and his harassers egged him on to turn the piece over. When he did, he saw the N-word and a heart stamped into it.

Solomon said he reported the incident and the previous months of slurs and racism to Longenecker. He said he was unimpressed with Longenecker’s reaction, saying that the principal apologized and said that the behavior had no place in Olathe. Solomon equated it to a “thoughts and prayers” response.

He was then instructed to fill out an incident form with a vice principal, who he said took the incident seriously. Solomon alleged that two of the white students received 10 days of out-of-school suspension, while the third received a few days and already returned to class.

“I feel like it was weak,” Solomon told The Star on Friday. “Because the school punishes harder for lesser offenses in my opinion. Like vaping. They take vaping more seriously than racism in my opinion.”

Solomon said he has not yet returned to the class and has instead stayed in the school office. He says he will have to remain in class with his harassers once they are back from their punishment.

District officials have declined to provide details of the incident or any disciplinary actions, but said they have thoroughly investigated and addressed the issue following policy.

Olathe student David Brox leads protesters in chants Monday evening in front of school district headquarters. Students are demanding that district officials take stronger steps to combat racism and discipline students for harassment and discrimination.
Olathe student David Brox leads protesters in chants Monday evening in front of school district headquarters. Students are demanding that district officials take stronger steps to combat racism and discipline students for harassment and discrimination.

In an email to families on Monday, Superintendent Brent Yeager said the district has taken several steps toward improving equity and inclusivity, including creating a diversity and engagement advisory council in 2020. The group has formed several staff affinity groups and helped push for broader recruitment efforts to increase diversity among staff. And the district hired an outside company to conduct an equity audit, reviewed earlier this year.

Yeager said he is “acknowledging that there is still work to be done.” Earlier this semester, he said the district began working on updating its student code of conduct to reflect “more profound consequences for acts of racism, hate speech and racial slurs.

“In addition, we will continue to provide education and professional development for our students and staff regarding expectations and repercussions of behavior related to hate speech and racial slurs.”

Students and parents at Monday’s protest argued that the steps taken are not enough and they have yet to feel real change in their schools.

“It doesn’t even seem like it affects the school. It’s just like, ‘let’s send out an email, push it under the rug, school is almost out and next year we’ll move on,’” Haynes said. “My biggest fear is we’ll just forget about it next year, and we’ll be out here in another six months because something else will happen to another kid.”

In an email to families last week, Longenecker repeated the district line that they cannot share details of the incident due to student privacy laws, but said it involved “students using a racial slur.” He said, “I want you to know that racism, hate speech or slurs of any kind are not tolerated at Olathe South.”

“In collaboration with our district’s department of Culture & Belonging, our administrative team has developed additional training to combat these issues head on at Olathe South. We have started this work this school year and will continue these proactive efforts in the fall,” the principal said.

Longenecker said school officials will set aside time this week for staff to speak with students, “address the trauma that hate speech can cause for our students and to reinforce that this behavior has not and will never be tolerated at Olathe South.”

Longenecker was not immediately available for further comment Monday evening.

Students also point to an incident less than two years ago when a photo circulated of a white Olathe South student asking a St. James Academy student to homecoming using a sign that read: “If I was Black I would be picking cotton but I’m white so I’m picking you for HOCO.”

The racist sign sparked widespread outrage, and many parents and students questioned the district’s handling of the incident, including the alleged punishment of a Black student who said he was there when it happened.

Solomon told The Star that Longenecker “should be held accountable. This isn’t his first time being negligent with situations of racism or student-based issues in general.”

He said racism is rampant at his school, but “kids just don’t speak out. They don’t feel encouraged at South to speak out.”

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