Racial incident helps Whitewater develop campaign against hate
WHITEWATER — Elizabeth McComb was upset that her community was seen as ground zero for racial tensions, but she thinks an incident a year ago awakened people to the issue of diversity.
“So many of us were like, ‘Really? Someone was that stupid? Some idiot went and did that?’” the high school senior said. “But it was a wakeup call. It made everyone very much more aware …”
Racial slurs, naming six black students and threatening death, were found written on a bathroom stall at Whitewater High School on May 14, 2009.
Students and community members organized a campaign against hate.
Diversity experts addressed the students and charged them with showing the community what it means to be accepting of differences.
School officials, students, parents and community members formed a task force to examine the issue of diversity in the community.
Police interviewed dozens of students but never found the person responsible for the graffiti. The investigation remains open, and a reward for information leading to an arrest still is available.
The families of three black students named in the threat filed a lawsuit against the school district in federal court but dismissed it in October because two of the three children no longer attend school in Whitewater. One of the students stayed in school to finish his senior year and to play football in pursuit of a college scholarship.
School district officials and community members said the incident focused media attention on the community, but it also unified the community around the issue of diversity.
McComb said the incident gave students a reason to raise their collective voice in support of acceptance, tolerance and diversity.
“People really do care,” she said. “We really wanted the students who were affected by it to know that not everyone feels that way, and we wanted everyone else to know we’re not like that.”
Vance Dalzin, principal at the high school, said the incident raised awareness among students and staff about discriminatory behavior.
“It just made us all more attuned to the things we see and hear every day,” he said.
Michele Martin, the juvenile officer for the Whitewater Police Department, said the incident helped students and staff shake off their tolerance of even minor discrimination.
“We found out there were kids with racist-type attitudes that we never even knew about. We found out kids were using the N word more freely,” she said.
“(Staff and students) said, ‘Well, kids always say that.’ … But when this happened, they realized it’s not acceptable.”
Superintendent Suzanne Zentner, who came to the district in July, said the incident brought the school district and the community together.
“I’m really proud of the process and the outcome of our group,” she said. “It was just an amazing illustration of the strength of this community.
“This is not a school issue. This is an issue that transcends communities, states and is a national issue.
It’s not isolated to Whitewater High School, Whitewater School District or our community.”
The Rev. Jerald Wendt, who was among a handful of community members on the task force, said the meetings opened the dialogue about race, ethnicity and diversity in the community.
“I don’t know what it accomplished, really,” he said. “I think it was just a chance to get together and talk …”
Lauren Smith, a concerned parent who helped organize the anti-hate campaign, said the community can do more to support understanding among people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds.
“It was really nice that a lot of people stepped forward around that time to voice their concern about the issue and to be involved in whatever might be done to alleviate the problem,” she said. “I think the conversation has been productive. But I’m not sure such a conversation is a regular part of the community.
“There’s still a lot of outreach that needs to happen.”
May 18, 2010 at 4:14 p.m.
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NoLeftist, some of Africa's woes could be blamed on colonization, but I agree most countries in Africa are royally messed up. Maybe its just humans in general that need bashing.
May 18, 2010 at 2:03 p.m.
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DiGriz just likes to spread negativity; he/she offers no solutions or positive suggestions. I wouldn't take it too seriously. :)
May 18, 2010 at 2:01 p.m.
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But generalizing about black people making Africa the paradise it is would be racist. Got it.
May 18, 2010 at 1:41 p.m.
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DiGriz said, "We live in a world where it's ok to bash caucasian people". As a caucasian, I look at the world caucasion leaders have created, and I think a little bashing would be appropriate. Colonization, slavery, two world wars, holocaust...not a good track record.
May 18, 2010 at 12:26 p.m.
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nemesis, who's the "we"? You want to redefine words that have definitions as old Webster's dictionary? Not sure what your point is.
May 18, 2010 at 12:24 p.m.
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"Diversity experts addressed the students and charged them with showing the community what it means to be accepting of differences."
"School officials, students, parents and community members formed a task force to examine the issue of diversity in the community."
Evidently the whole community needed an education based on what one kid wrote on a bathroom wall. Not only that, diversity programs will stop kids from writing stupid offensive stuff on bathroom walls.
I guess I haven't been through enough diversity training to have realized these facts.
May 17, 2010 at 8 p.m.
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This is terrible of course. But the words diversity, racism and hate are thrown around these days quite easily. If we are to raise awareness of this issue we should first define them so we know absolutely what is meant.
May 16, 2010 at 9:53 p.m.
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Racism displayed is like a burning ember in a forest. Left alone, it spreads vigorously. That's why we need to stamp it out vigorously, or we risk much by our indifference.
"One racist moron" never exists in a vacuum. Invariably, the racist is accompanied, and empowered by like minded individuals within his circle of friends and family. They find encouragement from the community at large when it tacitly approves of racial bigotry with rationalizations of racist behavior or dismissal of the significance of bigotry as being of little import. The backlash against political correctness is one such rationalization. Still others insist that their liberty trumps the need to eradicate racism if they even acknowledge it at all, such as with the use of Native American mascot caricatures and team names.
May 16, 2010 at 9:27 p.m.
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Billyboy rants agains racism while personally ripping all who are slightly left of Rush Limbaugh. What a hypocritical piece of work this guy is.
May 16, 2010 at 8:27 p.m.
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No one, no where should ever have to deal with public death threats based on how they look. Any time this topic can be discussed openly, with a positive emphasis, I am encouraged.
I would like to point out that the insensitive and idiotic message appeared to be from one person. This doesn't diminish what occurred, but I don't feel like a bigotry epidemic is spreading. One racist moron can do a lot of damage.
This is one area that parents can set the tone for their children. Encouraging diversity and respect is paramount. We all have a roll to play.
May 16, 2010 at 8 p.m.
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Let's not forget Redneck Fest in that, Whythink. It may seem like the libertarian thing to do, to identify yourself defiantly as a redneck or to defiantly insist that Native American mascots and nicknames are an exercise in liberty and are even an honor to Native Americans. But liberty at the expense at another's sensibilities, feelings or self respect isn't an exercise in liberty, it's an exercise in bigotry. Calling it anything else is an exercise in self-delusion. The kind of overt racism that the story above relates is an inevitable outbreak of the underlying bigotry that is exhibited by those who refuse to acknowledge the insult in the term "Redneck" and the use of Native American mascot caricatures and team names, and insist that they be continued.
We need to all join together to stamp out racism ever time it raises it's ugly head, not make excuses and rationalizations that only promote it, particularly among our impressionable youth who have an amazing capacity of being able to see through rationalized excuses and therefore emulate the bigotry of those closest to them.
May 16, 2010 at 4:12 p.m.
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Perhaps between the expelled student @ Parker, the Native American mascot issue, the Parker School Newspaper and the Whitewater reality; all the people with their heads in the sand regarding the CURRENT racism issues will remove their head and WAKE-UP.
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Stop denying it is an issue. This isn't about political correctness or sensitivity it is about racist attitudes and behaviors taking place in Southern Wisconsin in 2010.
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I am glad the School District of Janesville and Whitewater are attempting to deal with the issue. Hopefully progress can be made.
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