District removes Black Lives Matters signs from Visalia school, seeks new forum for students

A row of Black Lives Matter signs posted along the fence line at El Diamante High School will be removed on Friday following several confrontations outside of the Visalia school.

In a statement on Monday, Visalia Unified School District said all signs will be removed and that “no new signs, posters, or personal messages will be allowed on any District and school building, fence, or other District property accessible to the public without authorized approval from District or site personnel.”

“What started as student-initiated and student-led expression has now led to multiple disruptive incidents causing concern regarding student safety and potential damage to the district’s property,” Superintendent Tamara Ravalín said in the release.

BLM signs led to confrontations

The posters were put up by students as a visual demonstration in support of the nationwide protests about racism and social injustice in society. They became a source of concern last week when several women, apparently including a part-time, temporary employee at the Tulare County Office of Education, were caught on camera removing signs from the fence.

The profanity-laden video was widely shared on social media and led to an investigation from the office of education.

The posters were replaced and on Saturday, dozens of people demonstrated along Akers Street in support of Black Lives Matter.

A second video, tweeted by Perez Hilton

On Sunday, another video was shared online and picked up by blogger Perez Hilton. In that video, a man can be seen ripping signs from the fence. When asked why he was removing the signs, the man says that he lives near the school and is “sick of (expletive) seeing it.” The man appears to raise his fist in the air as a car drives by honking.

“Everyone agrees,” he says on the video.

The video was originally posted on Facebook Live and later uploaded by the group Voices of the Central Valley.

Police reports were taken during both incidents, according to the Visalia Police Department, and both cases are still being actively investigated. The department is also continuing to patrol the area around the school to monitor the situation, Visalia police Sgt. Celeste Sanchez said.

This would be the fourth time that signs had been removed and or vandalized, according to local Black Lives Matter supporters who spoke to the Visalia Times-Delta. The supporters said they had previously found the signs torn and shoved in a trash can and covered in urine.

Visalia student forum Tuesday

In its statement Monday, the district said it made the decision to remove the signs in the best interest of students to prevent any further disruption, but that it would create a new space “to allow students to share their voice with the community.”

A student forum is scheduled for Tuesday for the student leaders who organized the protests. It is not open to the public due to the need for social distancing during the pandemic, the district said. According to the district, it will “provide a space where student input and opinions related to the current nationwide and local conversations about racism and social injustice can be shared and recommendations can be created.”

The district also is exploring ways for students to directly communicate with district and local civic leaders.

This story was originally published June 29, 2020 at 1:49 PM.