Alumni say problems with racism are nothing new in Muskego
When basketball players from Beloit Memorial High School came to Muskego High School, they said they were met with racist slurs and symbols in the locker room, a “thug” theme in the student section and racist insults.
While the allegations made dozens of headlines, former MHS students of color said they weren’t surprised.
In order to raise awareness for the need for change, the alums shared their stories of growing up within the Muskego-Norway school district. For safety reasons, some wanted to remain anonymous.
MNSD did not respond to questions from the Journal Sentinel. The district’s zero-tolerance bullying policy can be viewed at bit.ly/3SZZJ04. The allegations from BMHS remain under investigation.
Muskego’s minority enrollment is at 10%, while less than 1% of students in Muskego’s school district are Black.
One former student says she experienced racism in the district since she was 6 years old
Lauren VandeVelde, a 2018 MHS graduate, remembers the first time she experienced racism in the MuskegoNorway school district. She was 6 years old.
On her first day of kindergarten, a fellow student told her, “no (racial slur) on the playground,” she said.
“As a mixed black, white, Hispanic, and Native American woman growing up in Muskego, a predominantly white community, I have personally experienced blatant racism, bigotry, and discrimination,” said VandeVelde.
She recalled feeling so uncomfortable from the stares of her peers during lessons about slavery in seventh grade that she received permission to leave class.
In high school, the racism continued, both in and outside the building.
“I was told ‘she has attitude because she’s black,’ my senior year of high school just because I didn’t say hi to a male freshman student that I did not know,” she said. “I was told, ‘go home, (racial slur) ,’ while in the McDonald’s drive through in Muskego by some white students who also attended
MHS.”
After multiple attempts to report students’ behavior with no change, she gave up, she said. “I found out early on that there was no point in reporting to administrators,” VandeVelde added.
She’s been close with some teachers and said most Muskego students didn’t contribute to her negative experiences.
“I want to make it clear that I don’t believe that every white student acts like this,” VandeVelde said. “I would say 80% of the white students are respectful of their students of color. It’s the 20% of white students that are uneducated, ignorant, and racist that are the problem.”
Privilege within the majority white community helps them get away with it, she said.
Alum recalls getting called (racial slur) and being run off the road
Jasmyn Ford was born and raised in Muskego. Her parents enrolled in the district because they believed it would benefit her and her older brother “to go to one of the ‘top schools in Wisconsin,’” she said.
She remembers being called (racial slur) for the first time when she was 7 years old. “I’d never heard the word before, and I still remember that specific student explaining to me that it meant, ‘all Black people are stupid and deserve to die,’” said Ford.
She told her parents, who then notified her elementary school. She recalled that the student was then suspended for three days. However, she said steps should’ve been taken to educate students on why it was wrong. “I know for a fact this same particular student has happily boasted this word around the rest of my schooling experience,” Ford said.
During her time in the district, she reported more instances of racism that resulted in no change, she said. Coupled with the fact that the mostly white staff couldn’t relate to her experiences, she kept future negative experiences to herself.
“In high school, we were talking about slavery in our class, and one of my teachers thought that it would be appropriate to ask me if anything we were talking about was offensive to me, and they stated it in a manner that came off insulting and condescending,” she said.
Racism isn’t limited to the school district, she said. She recalled one instance when she was walking down the road in Muskego a few years ago.
“As I’m walking, a truck starts coming at me incredibly fast and runs me off the road while shouting, ‘stupid (racial slur),’ out of their window,” Ford said.
Ford said that wasn’t the first time something like that had happened.
“My family and I were walking down Janesville on our way to support a local business not too long ago and we were yet again called ‘stupid (racial slurs)’ and had trash thrown at us as we were walking,” she said.
Her older brother, Jordin Ford, said he also experienced racism in Muskego. He graduated 10 years ago but said it doesn’t sound like much has changed since then.
A 2016 grad was harassed with confederate flags and KKK flyers
One 2016 MHS alum said she couldn’t wait to leave Muskego after graduation.
“I was called racial slurs in the hallways on the way to classes,” she said. “They would all walk behind me and make me feel unsafe to the point where I had to ask friends to walk with me to class.”
She remembered being closely followed “at a dangerous level” by someone with a confederate flag on their truck as she drove home from school. This happened after she reported the same group of students to administration, she said.
“If I would’ve braked at any point, I would’ve been rear ended,” she said.
One of her harassers finally faced punishment after they were caught stuffing pictures of the Ku Klux Klan into her locker during the high school’s spirit week. The theme that day was “America Day,” she said. “He was suspended for four days and had to write me a written note apologizing for his behavior,” she said. “After that, nothing changed, although he as an individual stopped harassing me and said he was willing to get his friends to leave me alone.”
A Muskego football player said teammates regularly called him racial slurs
It was already tough to be a person of color in a majority-white community, a 2017 alum said, and students’ racism, such as saying they wanted to join the KKK, made it worse.
“Some people wouldn’t care, and just throw racial slurs, or they would make sure you knew you weren’t white like them,” he said.
On the high school football team, he said he was called names and singled out for being Black during practice and games.
“It sucked because one time when I confronted the coaches, they told me not to think too much on it,” he said.
It was difficult for him to report fellow teammates as they considered themselves to be a “brotherhood,” he said.
He wishes more of the staff knew how it felt to be a person of color.
“I’m not saying all the staff were bad people, most were great teachers, but that diversity aspect would’ve been nice to have a teacher or at least someone to turn to for when the comments were sometimes too much,” he said. “They need more diversity in the school district so students can become more open to it, or even acknowledging Black excellence in some form.”
When he got to college, he said he realized that most people weren’t like the ones he dealt with in Muskego. Most people were actually accepting, and the more diverse student population helped him feel a sense of community, he said.
Racism runs deeper than just within the schools, alums said
“Now, the schools should be protecting their students from being exposed from such a thing; however, this issue is deeper than just the school district, it’s unfortunately just Muskego as a whole,” Ford said.
Vande-Velde agreed, citing the fact that parents let their children attend the basketball game against BMHS dressed for an alleged “thug” theme. “All of these beliefs are taught at home,” she said.
In the face of the recent allegations, Ford expressed hope for the future.
“Hopefully,” she said, “the good that comes out of this situation is inclusion and acceptance of everyone.”