Fresno students disciplined for racist photo. FUSD says it ‘learned from our mistakes’
Fresno Unified School District has taken disciplinary action against the students involved in a racist image from Bullard High School last week, the district informed The Fresno Bee’s Education Lab on Wednesday.
Because the photo has been shared publicly, FUSD cannot confirm the number of students who’ve been disciplined without violating their privacy, FUSD Chief Communications Officer Nikki Henry said.
At least three students were involved in the image that depicted a student wearing something that resembled a Ku Klux Klan hood over his head — the student wearing the hood, another student standing behind the male in the hood, and the student who shot the photograph.
The Fresno Bee won’t publish or share the photo due to its racist content.
Henry said that the district would continue to investigate any students or staff who were in the weight room or witnessed the event.
Questions remain, however, about supervision in the weight room at the time the photo was taken. The district has not said who was supervising the room at the time or whether those staff members were aware the students were staging the racist image.
Exactly when the photo was taken also remained unclear Wednesday. The weight room is open to all students before, during, and after school.
“Disciplinary action has been taken and will be taken to the fullest extent possible for any students or staff found to be involved in perpetuating this culturally destructive behavior,” Henry said in an emailed statement.
The incident in Bullard’s weight room was just one of several racist, “dehumanizing” images reported by students in recent days. Multiple social media accounts and other images were discovered last week depicting violence against Black people and showing some of the most horrific moments for Black Americans throughout history.
Hundreds of Fresno students protested the racist posts by walking out of class on Friday.
Then more social media accounts targeting Black students in Fresno emerged over the weekend, students said Monday at a news conference in front of Edison High School.
Leaders of the Black Student Unions at Bullard and Edison high schools identified multiple accounts at middle and high schools that have been posting demeaning, photoshopped photos of Black students from Fresno-area schools and reposting racist images from the eras of slavery and Jim Crow.
Each incident is investigated separately. While several of those investigations continue, the district hasn’t found evidence that the incidents are linked, Henry said.
“In speaking with our students myself, I’m hearing a lot of pain and trauma from these current incidents, but also from past incidents and what has felt like inaction on the district’s part,” she said. “As a district, we have learned from our mistakes in the past and are committed to doing better.”
The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab at its website.
