Students reportedly reenacted Floyd death
Gilbert Public Schools District officials investigated and disciplined students after a report was made and a video published online shows what appears to be two high school students reenacting the murder of George Floyd.
In May 2020, George Floyd died after former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin held his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes. His death sparked public outcry and months of civil rights protests across the country, including in Arizona.
On April 20, Chauvin was found guilty on counts of second- and thirddegree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
The six-second video posted online Wednesday shows what appears to be one student lying face down on the floor while another student holds his knee on his peer’s neck and presses his hand down on his back during a class at Highland High School in Gilbert.
A person in the video says, “They’re demonstrating a Spanish word” and laughs. The two students then stand up in what looks like a classroom full of other students watching the reenactment.
According to a Twitter post, one Black girl was in the classroom at the time of the incident. Many people replied to the post condemning the students’ actions, saying this behavior isn’t new at the school.
A spokesperson for the Gilbert school district said a thorough investigation began “immediately” after
Highland High School administration received a report of the incident on Wednesday.
An email from the school’s principal, Melinda Murphy, sent to students and families on Friday, said the event was investigated and that the “parties involved were disciplined according to Gilbert Schools policy.”
“All breaches of Gilbert Public Schools student code of conduct are investigated to their full extent and district policies and procedures are followed to deliver consequences,” a statement from the district said. “Gilbert Public Schools strives to create communities of inclusion and any act of racism is in direct opposition to the values that we hold as a school district.”
Over the past few years, students at Highland High have been accused of racist behavior such as two students using the “n-word” in a video and a photo with students posing with the “OK” hand gesture, which was designated as a hate symbol after white supremacists began using the gesture in photos. The district said the involved students in the video were disciplined.
Last year, The Arizona Republic also analyzed more than a dozen racist incidents at schools across metro Phoenix since 2016.
Students of color interviewed by The Republic last year said racism is embedded in the culture of schools across metro Phoenix.
President of Black Student Union at school says incident isn’t isolated
Hanaan Abdulle, 18, is a senior at Highland High School and president of the school’s Black Student Union. Abdulle said incidents like these “remind us where we are in our struggle” to make the high school an equitable place in addition to the community as a whole.
“I don’t want to make it seem that the student recreating the murder of George Floyd is just a silly act of racism,” she told The Arizona Republic. “These aren’t mistakes, these are premeditated. This is a hate crime. This is a textbook hate crime.”
Abdulle is Muslim and wears a hijab. She said she has experienced racism in addition to her older sister, who graduated in 2018.
“She’s had instances where students would make fun of her,” Abdulle said. “I’ve had students ask me if I were a terrorist . ... I had a student tell me, ‘I don’t like Black people, but you’re OK.’ ”
Abdulle said Black students make up less than 100 of about 3,000 students at the high school. “We’re a super minority,” she said. “I have experienced being the only Black girl in class. Every member of the BSU has experienced being the only Black student in class.”
Abdulle said the Black Student Union has made some strides at the school such as celebrating Black History Month and holding events, but the burden to address racism can’t be on Black students, she said.
The school could use assemblies to bring in Black speakers to educate students on race or provide workshops about implicit bias and discrimination, Abdulle said. But one of the first steps, according to Abdulle, is to acknowledge and see that there is a problem.
“Once we, as a community, decide that it is the time to make changes and it is the time to provide those who should change the tools to change, that is when we will be able to progress and that’s when we will be able to make Gilbert ... a place for everyone,” she said.
Abdulle said she hopes her younger siblings do not have to experience what she and her sister experienced while in school. “I want it to end with my generation,” she said.
Black leaders, organizations say those involved should be disciplined
Carlian Dawson, a retired principal and director of education for the Arizona Center for African American Children in Phoenix, said she wanted to know who encouraged these students to do this reenactment and why.
“Who was there to help those children process this?” she said, wondering if there was a counselor in the room or if it was prepared. “I don’t know what what person’s intent was, but people have to be careful.”
What should be a calm environment turned into a hostile one for the one Black girl in the class, Dawson said. “African American kids get so traumatized daily; it’s important for teachers to look and see what they are doing,” she said.
Though it’s unclear why or how the reenactment occurred, Dawson said there should be consequences for those involved, and the district should consider training and understanding in trauma, biases and implicit biases.
“This racist behavior happens over and over again. People need to know that this is just as harmful to an individual as if someone was in a serious car accident or as if you watch someone physically die,” she said.
Roy Dawson, executive director for the Arizona Center for African American Resources, said “it’s better for us to talk about what we think something is than to just quickly label it.”
“Our position on the matter is that it’s easy to jump to conclusions, that it was an intentional and irresponsible act, but we don’t know that,” Roy Dawson said.
Dana Burns, founder of A Permanent Voice Foundation, a nonprofit that supports people in difficult circumstances, said she was at a loss for words and would like to know where the teacher was during this incident. Moving forward, she said everybody has to step up.
“We can’t continue allowing this to happen,” she said. “You have to call it as you see it.”
Erik Hood, a lead basketball coach at Compass Prep in Chandler and former coach for Phoenix South Mountain High School, said a sophomore student who played for him told him about the incident.
“It made them feel horrible. It made them feel less of a human being,” Hood said. “He felt really bad, wondering ‘how people can be so evil ... how can somebody make fun of somebody getting killed, right or wrong?’ ”
Hood said incidents like this are “nothing new” and have been occurring since before the civil rights movement. But “at the end of the day, we’re all one race, the human race,” Hood said.
“I just wish that these kids were taught how to love instead of hate,” Hood said.
Highland High School principal to students and families: ‘No room’ on campus for racism
After the incident was investigated by school officials, the principal said in an email that she expects “students to treat each other with respect and kindness.”
“In no way do the actions of a few speak for Highland High or Gilbert Public Schools.” the email said. “There is no room on this campus for racial slurs, racist acts, or racially charged language.”
The email said students who participate in these actions will be disciplined according to student conduct policies. The principal also said “we share responsibility” to create an inclusive space for students to learn in.
“Please take some time to reflect with your children on the power they have to positively impact the campus and the Hawk community,” the email said.
Highland High School Athletics also sent an email to students that said the department “does not condone the actions of some of our students this week.”
“Their actions do not align with the core values of the HHS athletic department or of the campus. We work hard as an athletic community to bring diversity to our coaching staff and our programs and will continue to do so,” the email said.
Dominic Willis, a coach at the high school, said on Twitter that he hopes Highland “handles the situation” correctly “from here on out. Change has to come.”