It was a “prank gone sideways,” kind of like a “robbery gone wrong” when the robber murders the victim. What would have happened had the prank gone the right way we’ll never know.
We do know that labeling water fountains “white” and “colored” at a high school in Sacramento, California, was yet another hoax. The perpetrator is a black girl who confessed. Surveillance cameras caught her red-handed.
Of course, the usual moral panic began minutes after the graffiti was discovered. The community was shocked. It was angry. It wanted answers.
And like so many other times, the hate crime was a hate hoax.
“Hateful” and “Racist”
School officials vowed to stop the march of racism and hate in Sacramento’s schools after they removed the graffiti at McClatchy High. It showed up on February 11.
“We take this incident very seriously. Racism and racist language will not be tolerated in our schools,” warned Jorge Aguilar, superintendent of the Sacramento City Unified School District:
Our district is committed to confronting racial prejudice. This offensive incident serves as another reminder that we need to have a reckoning on race at all levels in SCUSD and beyond.
Few Californians knew that racists are so powerful in Sacramento that a “reckoning” is necessary.
Still, students were likewise alarmed, reported KCRA3, the NBC affiliate.
“I’m just speechless about it,” said one student. “Especially during Black History Month.”
“I came from a different country. I don’t like racism either because it’s hurtful,” another student old the station:
The district said it is concerned for students and staff affected by the graffiti.
The superintendent said the district will provide “all necessary support services for students and staff who are experiencing trauma as a result of this incident.”
In a Facebook post, activist Barry Accius included photos.
“McClatchy High School in Sacramento,” he wrote. “Like I said it’s All School Districts in Sacramento that has a Culture of Racism….. Happy Black History Month…….. Here we Go Again.”
“It is very hateful, very insensitive, and very racist.” Accius told KCRA. “When are we going to have stricter policies that protect black children in these schools?”
Student Confesses
Except that black children don’t need protection from racists.
“Investigators have identified a Black student is responsible for racist graffiti found over a water fountain at C.K. McClatchy High School with a message that alluded to segregation,” the Sacramento Bee reported last week.
Mark Harris, a “community liaison” for the district, said the race of the perpetrator is irrelevant:
“It was a prank that went sideways is my characterization of what the young woman said in her confession,” Harris said while standing along side Black community leaders. “It should be a moment for our community to come together and make sure this doesn’t destroy this person’s life.”…
“We don’t know why she did it,” said Harris. “This is not a situation that is the same as an overt deliberate move to do something that is racist, destructive, negative, etc.”
Harris wouldn’t likely be so forgiving if the student were white. The graffiti would not have been a “prank gone sideways.” It would have been cause for white students to suffer Maoist Struggle Sessions.
Honest Abe’s School Defiled
A few days after the racist graffiti was discovered at the water fountains, officials found more at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School.
Aguilar vowed to find and punish the culprit:
It is appalling that anyone would target a school with racist graffiti and subject students, staff and families to messages of hate. With support from law enforcement, we will fully investigate this incident. We also want each of our students to know that they are loved and cared for while we work to confront racism in any form.
What will happen if it turns out to be another hoax, Aguilar didn’t say.
H/T: Legal Insurrection
