Students detail bullying and racism, including being ordered to be a slave in American Revolution reenactment
On Mon., Feb. 27, attorneys with The Cochran Firm in Los Angeles, Calif., held a press conference to announce the filing of four Claim for Damages against the Upland Unified School District on behalf of four families whose children were routinely harassed and bullied at Pepper Tree Elementary School because of their race.
The legal claim is required before the families can sue the school district for civil rights violations and violations of the state’s Education Code. The parents have put Upland Unified School District on notice that they intend to move forward with a lawsuit over what they say is the District’s collective failure to put an end to the bullying and racial harassment of their children that had been reported numerous times.
The school district will have 45 days to respond, either accepting liability or denying the claim, the latter of which paves the way for The Cochran Firm to file a lawsuit on behalf of each of the four families.
During today’s press conference, lead attorney, James Bryant of The Cochran Firm said, “Children are not born to hate, it is taught in the home. But when administrators and teachers–their own children are perpetuating this–how can you change a broken system? If Upland School District didn’t think it was going to be a problem then, it is going to be a massive problem now.”
13-year-old Chloe Jenkins received one of the handmade cards that read, “To my favorite cotton picker.”
“I received a card on February 2, and on February 1, the person that had gave me the card said that she made a card for me,” Chloe said. “And the next day she gave me the card, and it said to my favorite cotton picker. And that made me feel like–I didnt’ know that they actually thought of me that way. So it made me feel less than a person.”
Kabene Gabremariam spoke about her 11-year-old son coming home and asking her what the n-word means after he was given a “Golden N—-r Pass” by another student at Pepper Tree Elementary. Both Kabene and her son Adonios are from Ethiopia and didn’t know what the n-word was, so she Googled it.
“You might think I know that but from the country where I came from n-word means–it’s an alphabet for me,” said Mrs. Gabremariam. “So I have to go ahead and Google that and I have to learn what the meaning of which really breaks my heart.”
Christopher Newman, the father of 11-year-old Jackson Newman, said that he believes the school is trying to cover up what they’ve done.
“They recently released a timeline that’s inaccurate and misleading in order to just protect themselves and to cover themselves, and the only reason there’s any response from the district and the school is because you all [the media] is [sic] here,” said Mr. Newman.
11-year-old London Douglas shared her experience of being told she was going to be given a Black History Month card that said, “You’re My Favorite Slave.”
London told reporters, “I was told they were going to make me one that had a slave hanging from a tree and it was me–me hanging from a tree.”
London, who is the only Black girl in her class, was also ordered to be a slave in her classes reenactment of the American Revolution.
Her twin brother Rome Douglas said that every day he goes to school, it’s a struggle.
“I know I am going to be called a monkey,” Rome sadly shared. “They are going to make noises behind me, I just never know when. This year I was called a monkey in class, and I told my teacher about it. She just nodded her head and said she’d talk to the kid about it, but she never did, and that just really made me angry.”
London and Rome’s parents are Rome Douglas, a former NFL pro who played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Giants, and St. Louis Rams. He is married to their mother, collegiate basketball coach Maylana Martin.
All of the parents say that they have made numerous attempts to get the school and school district to act on the ongoing bullying and racism.
Last year, Isabella “Izzy” Tichenor died by suicide in November. Her mother alleged that the 10-year-old Black and autistic student at Foxboro Elementary in Farmington, Utah, had been bullied because of her race and disability.
In 2018, a 10-year-old Kentucky boy allegedly died by suicide after being constantly bullied over his colostomy bag. Seven Bridges, who was Black, was allegedly choked and called a racial slur while riding the school bus.
Founded over 50 years ago by Johnnie L. Cochran, The Cochran Firm is one of the nation’s premier civil rights and criminal defense law firms.