Black Student Union Viewpoint

A Need for Safe Spaces

As black students, we live in a world that sees us through the lens of prejudice, racial stereotypes, and negativity. As mainstream stereotypes and marginalization pervade every societal space we occupy, we find ourselves constantly fatigued by the effort it takes to make white people more comfortable. That is why we cherish our safe spaces in life; we need them to heal, to relate to each other, to reclaim our identities that have been spit on by systemic racism. However, when our safe spaces are policed, stigmatized, and vandalized, we can no longer view them as the sanctuaries they should be.

Consider the second-floor bridge, a location where many (black) students hang around in between classes. This gathering space has frequently been labeled as an example of problematic “hallway culture,” with teachers and deans patrolling the area as they yell at, criticize, and penalize us for not being in class. Administrators do this without any remorse—there is never any acknowledgment of the fact that the burden of being a minority affects our mental health, and it’s often necessary to take a break from a system designed to oppress us.

It is an old truth but a real nightmare for many black students at CRLS that, when they gather on the bridge, administrators see them as a bunch of troublesome, disrespectful teenagers with no consideration for rules and education. Racial prejudice is clearly influencing these administrators because when hundreds of students, primarily white, break the rules in the name of activism, they receive praise from local officials and staff. When walkouts and strikes are organized by white students, the question is never what consequence will students receive for breaking the rules in the name of activism, but rather will students be excused for attending.

Furthermore, it is a widely-known fact that Room 1604 is the Black Student Union’s primary meeting space and a place that is open to all students in general. We brand ourselves as a safe space for black people within CRLS, though even our safe space has been the target of unjust acts of racial discrimination: Over the past year, a white School Committee member used the word “Nigger” during a meeting with our members; a guidance counselor aggressively yelled at us, telling our advisor he was “doing it all wrong”; the sign on our door was ripped; and several teachers stared into our space as if we were a circus that
does not belong in the school.

The stigma of our room has made it difficult to consider it a safe space anymore. This room is where we host DESKS, a series of discussions on pressing issues related to racial identity; where we have brought in members of the Cambridge Police Department to discuss the Black Lives Matter movement; where we have brought in members of the Cambridge City Council to discuss school policies and how they impact us. We allow people into our space at the cost of personal vulnerability; we make our room a space for everyone. Yet, it is stigmatized because people feel comfortable stigmatizing it, so long as their biases remain unchecked by authorities.

The desire to have a safe space that is fluid and adaptable should be respected within our building and not be seen as merely an exclusive right. No external force should compromise our privilege of having a space to be our true selves in a world that steals that right from us.

Flawed Detention Policy

CRLS students frequently hear teachers discuss the importance of closing the achievement gap and of valuing racial equity, diversity, and student voices at CRLS. However, it is difficult for black students to trust that these adults really want to achieve these goals when many teachers and administrators are quick to report us for incidents of misconduct and to punish us by sending us to detention. They seem to ignore that subjective bias influences the imbalance of students who end up in detention. The new After School Detention Policy, which gives teachers the power to fill out referrals on students that are reviewed by the dean, went into effect Tuesday, September 17th. Especially for students who look like us, this new policy does more harm than good. As black members of a CRLS organization, we openly denounce this new policy. We demand a delay in policy implementation so that CRLS deans and BSU can reevaluate the logic behind this policy and its effects on students.

Consider this: it is a fact that detention is not a deterrent to student misconduct (such as skipping class, extended bathroom breaks, or horseplay); instead, detention policies enable teachers and deans to act on their racial prejudices in harmful ways.

About 60% of detention and in-school suspensions affect black students—even though white classmates make up the majority of our school population. This statistic implies one of two truths: One, that we as black teens are more prone to breaking rules than any other demographic at our school, or two, that some teachers have conscious and subconscious biases that cause them to see our actions as problematic. We believe the latter is true and are therefore advocating for the removal of this policy. To even advocate for an end to this policy is seen as arrogant, as creating a nuisance within the community. After emailing and meeting with administrators, we have been told there is nothing that can be done.

In order for equity to be a reality and for black voices to truly be heard as valid forces—as the community ostensibly believes is important—we, the BSU, request that the school reconsider this detention policy and that administrators truly listen to our concerns as a group representing those most negatively impacted by detention and be more willing to take appropriate action.

Bias in Incident Reporting

Incident reporting at CRLS is consistently prejudiced against black students and is especially prejudiced against those who have tried to reveal the biases in the system. When we speak up, we are not welcomed or supported because we are presumed to be lying, or our points are overlooked due to our skin color. Whether it is our club releasing videos on in-school incidents that have negatively impacted our members, or hundreds of students protesting against sexual violence—all examples of when
we saw something and said something—not everyone, especially many role model educators, believed us. This disregard gives many students the idea that reporting an incident is hopeless and leaves the reporter lost at sea.

We, as a school community, need to reform the incident reporting system in a way that prioritizes taking immediate action to address instances of discrimination and bigotry. The reporting system is biased; if a student sees, hears, or is the target of prejudice, they should not have to question whether or not the incident is worth reporting. Instead, the school should provide easy access to incident reporting in a way that promotes its importance and lack of consequences for
victims and reporters. Moreover, what we, as an organization, feel is most important is that the reports are not only acknowledged but followed up on. To this day, we have teachers who have sexually harassed students and used anti-semitic remarks and other derogatory terms in their classes still roaming the halls. What does that tell us about the efficacy of our incident reporting system and how it has tolerated biases?

Volume 4

During the 2017-2018 school year, former BSU members set the foundation of the work current members are continuing. They created Volumes 1-3 of our series of videos focusing on specific instances of racial discrimination that students had experienced within the school. In response to these productions, many members of the CRLS staff explicitly condemned us for coming out with these stories. Instead of investigating these stories, the administration’s first response was a school-wide email that highlighted that the video was not authorized for release by the school.

Many unresolved issues were swept under the rug after the class of 2018 graduated, especially as they were not there to advocate for themselves or speak to specifics. However, the BSU legacy recognizes that without their hard work, future members would be nowhere near as successful a club today. 

The CRLS Black Student Union is dedicated to destroying racism within the CRLS school community. As an organization, we have pushed for those who commit acts of racial bias to be held accountable countless times; however, we have seen the administration do little over the course of the last three years in response. For this reason, we released Volume 4 at the end of last year.

We created Volume 4 to honor the work BSU has already done and to continue that work. In Volume 4, we address the discrimination we faced during the 2018-2019 school year, listing specific incidents in a timeline. Furthermore, we formulated a concrete set of demands that asks administrators to take action in order to promote equity within the school. We have given them specific examples of what can be done and why doing so is important to adequately supporting, accommodating, and improving the safety and well-being of the Black Student Union and black students at CRLS.

These demands include: 

1. A school/district-wide forum discussing the racial and discriminatory backlash that BSU faced from CRLS employees during the 2017-2018 school year. 
2. Mandated school and district-wide trainings on: social-emotional learning, anti-bias, anti-sexism and violence against women, and anti-racism for all teachers/staff, elected/appointed officials, Human Resources, etc. employees affiliated with CPSD. 
3. Establishing an anti-racism curriculum committee to research how to fully implement curriculum into CPSD K-12 within the next 5 years. 
4. A public statement and action plan that specifically outlines safety for the mental health and well-being of black students and teachers for the 2019-2020 school year. 
5. Thorough and adequate follow-ups and restorative justice resolutions towards every aforementioned offense by any adult towards BSU (as stated in “Micro/Macro-Aggressions Directed at BSU”). 
6. Restructuring of CPSD incident reporting protocol that, (but not limited to): Distinguishes clearly separate protocol and accessible guides for all CPSD members on racism, micro-/macro-aggression, prejudice/discrimination, and sexual violence (harassment, assault); published transparent step-by-step that outline updates, short term, and immediate support provided for reporters; accessible report copy (an electronic and hard version) to CPSD-affiliated person whom reported on an incident of all transactions, steps followed, and resolutions (i.e. explaining the rationale for resolution) by CPSD Human Resources.
7. Finally, a committee (separate from the CEA Union, comprised of students and educators) that serves as a check and balance protocol for non-teacher CPSD employees (Superintendent, School Committee members, district staff members) if/when misconduct is committed by them affecting CPSD members.

Each of these demands helps to eliminate disparities between people of color and white people and allow students, particularly black students, to have more authority over their experience at CRLS. We, as an organization, are often asked what can be done to help protect black students. These demands hold the answer to this question, and implementing these demands is the only way to do justice to the BSU legacy.