Albany protest after suspended students return
Several hundred Albany High School students staged a sit-in outside the school Thursday to protest the return to campus of a group of classmates who had been suspended for allegedly posting racist attacks on fellow students on social media.
The protesting students sat for nearly three hours on a plaza between two school buildings holding signs reading “Black Is Beautiful” and “We Won’t Stand for Racism.” Students also held hands and stretched out in a single line around the school as they chanted, “Albany for all.”
After other students joined in, classes were canceled for the rest of the day.
Thursday’s sit-in began when the students allegedly behind the offensive Instagram posts had come to school to meet with teachers and victims, according to Tenzin Norsang, a fresh-
man whose sister was singled out by the online posts.
“I want them to face what they did and the effect they’ve had on the community,” he said. “My sister and her friends, those photos really affected them.”
Ankha Tumenjangal, a freshman, added, “Ever since they posted all that racist stuff, there’s been outrage.”
Students said the social media posts, which have all been removed, had made fun of female students because of their skin color, weight and race. The postings also included derogatory comments about slavery, students said. One photo posted to the site showed a black doll alongside images of a Ku Klux Klan member, a torch and a noose.
Shortly before 3 p.m., when the suspended students attempted to leave school grounds through a rear door, many of the protesters raced across campus, some of them hurdling over picnic tables and taking steps two at a time, to confront their fleeing classmates.
Protesters surrounded a car with some of the students in it, but it slowly proceeded down the block and departed, and the protesters dispersed.
Tensions had increased earlier in the morning when school Superintendent Val Williams emailed students and parents reporting that police were investigating what appeared to be a noose hanging from a tree in a park adjacent to the school, which is attended by 1,200 students. About 1 student in 20 is black.
But an announcement over school loudspeakers reported that police had determined it was a rope swing for children in the process of being built, not a noose, according to Jillian Guffy, a senior.
In a statement on the school website, the superintendent and the principal, Jeff Anderson, informed parents and students about another incident involving seven ninth-graders who had been “engaging in Nazi salutes to each other while passing in the halls ... for several months.”
Administrators “took appropriate action,” the statement said.
“These recent events have underscored our need to ... implement restorative justice practices, as well as culturally responsive teaching and practices. It is our goal not only to set the tone that any racist, sexist, discriminatory, or hate related speech and behavior will not be tolerated, but that we also create a school community in which all students feel safe, welcome, and respected,” the superintendent and the principal said in a statement.
Students said the protests and the social media postings had left the school shaken but united in opposition to bigotry.
“It’s a whole different tone around here lately,” said Francisco Gonzales, a freshman. “Tension has really gone up.”
“Now everyone’s closer because of what we’ve been through,” said Anthoney Silva, a freshman.
“I want them to face what they did and the effect they’ve had on the community.” Tenzin Norsang, freshman, Albany High School