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The prosecutions of six black teenagers in Jena, La., have captured the nation's attention, with thousands of protestors (and nearly as many reporters) descending on the small town last week. As school professionals, we must never lose sight of the fact that it all started with nooses hanging from a schoolyard tree. Six lessons we must take to heart:
1. Don't ignore obvious signs of trouble.
In Jena, a black student approached the high school principal and asked, "Can we sit under that tree?'" On campus, it was known as the "White Tree" -- a place where white students historically gathered. The principal said they could sit wherever they liked. It was an appropriate response, yet one that overlooked the core issue: Why did students feel like they needed to ask for permission? What did the very question reveal about the school's racial climate?
2. Examine your school's climate.
You may think your school is "no Jena High" -- but do you know for sure? Are there divisions about which you're unaware?
In a survey conducted last year by Teaching Tolerance, the National Education Association and the Civil Rights Project, the vast majority of teachers nationally said their schools were largely free of racial or ethnic tensions.
Students, however, paint a very different picture.
They describe their schools as "quick to put people into categories," and one in four report being victimized in racial or ethnic incidents in a typical school year. Race and ethnicity aren't the only lines of division, either: 70 percent of female students say they've been sexually harassed at school; 75 percent of gay students report hearing anti-gay slurs frequently or often at school, and more than a third say they've been physically harassed.
3. Take bias incidents seriously.
After a few black students sat under the "White Tree," three white students hung nooses from it. Jena's white school superintendent, Roy Breithaupt, later told the Chicago Tribune, "Adolescents play pranks. I don’t think it was a threat against anybody."
In truth, the hanging of nooses was no youthful prank; it was a bias incident connoting racial lynchings. As Caseplia Bailey, whose son Robert is among the Jena Six, told Britain's Observer, the act "meant the KKK, it meant … 'We're going to kill you, we're gonna' hang you 'til you die.'"
By their very nature, bias incidents intend to demean or instill fear in those targeted, and schools must address them quickly, consistently and effectively.
4. Provide forums for meaningful discussion.
When bias incidents occur, schools must open lines of communication, not shut down debate. In Jena:
- After black students gathered around the "White Tree" as political protest, the principal called a school assembly during which he said it was time to put the noose incident behind them for the sake of the school. The district attorney spoke next, flanked by police officers, warning students: "With a stroke of my pen, I can make your lives disappear" -- the equivalent of throwing gasoline on a fire.
- When black parents showed up at a school board meeting, they were not allowed to speak. When they showed up again, board members allowed a spokesperson to address them, but then quickly moved on to other business without addressing the parents' concerns.
In highly charged bias incidents, schools should hold forums for educators, students, parents and community members and issue regular updates about the incident, describing what happened, why the incident was unacceptable and how the school has responded thus far. Schools should invite comments from attendees -- and seek their input about ways the school, students, parents and community can work together to resolve the underlying problems.
5. Use bias incidents as teachable moments.
Ask teachers to set aside class time to allow students to reflect on what has happened. Because students can influence peer behavior, ask them to write down suggestions for preventing further incidents and promoting respect and to discuss their suggestions in small groups. Because bias incidents often involve the use of bigoted speech (slurs or epithets), conduct lessons to empower students to make respectful language choices.
6. Bridge divisions in the school — and the community.
Organize school-wide events to help students get to know one another and learn about respectful behavior. Mix It Up at Lunch Day (Nov. 13, 2007) and No Name-Calling Week (Jan. 21-25, 2008) are excellent events with which to start.
Schools don't exist in isolation, however. If tensions exist in a school, they exist in the larger community, too. Whether through dialogue or other social justice programs, like those sponsored by the National League of Cities, the events in Jena serve as a call to each of us to explore what divides us -- and what can unite us.
Contact us for permission to reprint these materials. Please reference the title and the name and location of your school/organization in your request.
Special thanks to Teaching Tolerance team members Samantha Elliott Briggs, Rod Davis, Tafeni English, Michelle Garcia and Rhonda Thomason, as well as Lecia Brooks, director of the Civil Rights Memorial Center, and Jeff Sapp, professor of education at California State University at Dominguez Hills, for their guidance and constructive criticism on earlier drafts.
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