FOLSOM, Calif. — The Greater Sacramento Chapter of NAACP is taking action after someone wrote the N-word with profanity on a whiteboard at Vista del Lago High School in Folsom.
It happened Friday evening, in the visiting locker room, during a football game between Vista del Lago and Del Campo High School.
The NAACP sent a letter to the Folsom Cordova Unified School District (FCUSD), requesting a meeting and independent investigation into the incident.
"Racism is alive and well," said Betty Williams, president for NAACP Sacramento Chapter. "Now, they're making it comfortable for students and teachers to come in your face with the racism. The environment has become that comfortable to the point where they feel like there's not going to be any consequences or any accountability."
The NAACP is working to ensure the FCUSD provides additional counseling for Black students in response to "racism and discrimination in the school district." The civil rights organization is also calling on district leaders to hold the person(s) accountable for the hateful act.
"We can't suspend and expel it away," Williams said. "We need to go beyond that and have additional tools of accountability."
The Black Parallel School Board (BPSB) is a nonprofit based in Sacramento that supports the educational growth and achievement of Black students.
That includes providing support services to parents regarding the education of their children, specifically in the Sacramento Unified School District and surrounding areas.
The organizations say there are many ways to tackle racism at schools, such as recognizing and challenging unconscious bias, making sure the curriculum is inclusive and representative, and discussing race and the consequences of racism in classrooms.
"It's something that can't exist on our campuses," said Darryl White Sr., chairperson for the Black Parallel School Board. "The first thing you have to do is acknowledge it and develop programs around it because you have students that come to school that might look at things differently. So, they need to be trained and taught what it means to be equitable."
ABC10's Race and Culture team reached out to the FCUSD to find out how district leaders are working to fight racism.
In a statement, Superintendent Dr. Sarah Koligian said “racist events cause pain and harm to our students and staff and our community. We will continue to provide education and training to confront and denounce racism. We will provide social and emotional support to those affected. We will enact, to the fullest extent, disciplinary measures on those found in our system to have instigated a racist activity and are continually committed to working in partnership with our community to confront racism.”
In addition, FCUSD says the district "recently updated Board Policy 0410: Nondiscrimination In District Programs And Activities, we continue to support an Equity Advisory Committee, Staff Equity Leads, and Climate Facilitators to administer staff training and promote anti-racist and positive school culture for our school sites."
Earlier this school year, FCUSD hosted the Leadership and Ethics training by Dwight Taylor Sr. for the student-athletes at Folsom High School, which will be also offered to other high schools this year.
"FCUSD believes confronting racism is a multi-pronged effort that involves everyone in the community," said Koligian. "We know there is still work to be done. We are committed to continuing our effort to confront and denounce racism and appreciate the partnership with our community in doing so."