Just when the world is thinking that the fight against racism is taking a very good and positive turnaround especially with all the recent happenings on George Floyd Mayweather and other numerous cases and awareness campaigns being promoted all over social media, sports arenas, as well as in the entertainment, religious, and political sphere and news outlets, a black student in Lake Oswego, Oregon, has sued her school district, its superintendent, and a former board member turned state senator for failing to act on multiple instances of discrimination and racism.
Oregon Live, reporting the incidence disclosed that the Lake Oswego School District, Superintendent Lora De La Cruz, and state Sen. Rob Wagner were all listed as defendants on an petition filed by the unnamed student.
The student, who is Black, claimed in the petition that she has endured countless instances of racism during her time at Lakeridge High. Meanwhile the student’s legal representative, Kim Sordyl and Michael Fuller, confirmed that the lawsuit will be filed in the coming weeks in Multnomah County Circuit Court.
Sordyl in a statement corroborated the accusations of his client claiming that indeed she had endured insults about her hair, cyber bullying, racial slurs, and harassment when she played on the school’s basketball team. Any effort by the family to get the school to address these problems was allegedly met with indifference.
“Lake Oswego schools are hotbeds of racism,” Sordyl said. “White decision-makers engage in performative allyship while covering up a deeply racist culture.”
However, district spokeswoman Mary Kay Larson told Oregon Live that the district won’t comment on the allegations. She said in a statement that the school has recently approved an anti-racism resolution, and has hired a teacher to focus on equity in the district.
The attention and attempt to sue the school was first made in February, by the attorneys who sent in a notification to De La Cruz announcing their intent to sue for damages in line with the claims of racism the student experienced during her time on the basketball team. Her all-white teammates dubbed themselves the “Caucasian Invasion” and hazed and harassed her.”
It is interesting to note that the racism wasn’t limited to just students either, as the claim describes an incident where two parents at one of the games told their kids to yell racial slurs at the student and harass her mother. When the student asked them to stop, one of the parents allegedly had the audacity to file a complaint with the district.
At this point it was obvious that there were some underground agenda of racism which really sounded like some Becky shit. “Yes we were racist, but how DARE they call us on it!”
Interestingly in April, the student put in a request to graduate a year early so she could leave the allegedly racist school. Desiree Fisher, the school’s principal recommended the student be allowed to graduate early. State Sen. Wagner, who was the district chair at the time, approved the request in May but didn’t make any efforts to investigate the reason why she wanted to graduate early.
According to Sordyl’s statement, the school board did nothing to make a good impression of themselves to the outside world on this incidence in fact his statement alleges that the student was called into an office with multiple school officials without her parents being notified. The officials, all white men because of course, told the student that she would face consequences if she went public with the discrimination she’s endured.
He continued by expressing his tired frustration over the whole episode and implied that he’s of the strong opinion that the Black families in Lake Oswego are exhausted as, unfortunately, incidents like this aren’t uncommon. A few years ago, a group of eighth graders in the city said they were called racial slurs on a regular basis. Just this August, a family received a racist letter as a result of having a Black Lives Matter sign outside their house.
So clearly there’s a problem in Lake Oswego. Here’s hoping this case might bring about some deeply needed change in this community and wherever such Incidence are still being overlooked globally.
Gift Joseph Okpakorese
Staff Writer
