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School District Racially Biased, Say Critics

By Tom Lee

A series of school suspensions has drawn attention to the Torrance Unified School District, leading some community leaders to charge the L.A.-area district with discrimination against Asian American students.

Within approximately one year, three separate incidents involving altercations between whites and Asian Americans have resulted in suspensions for the API students, while the white students involved received less harsh punishment or no penalty.

Concerned parents and civil rights groups call the disciplinary actions by the school administrations selective, unfair and biased.

“Some of the kids say the schools have a history of not treating the [Asian American] kids right. These incidents have happened over and over again so there’s something wrong with the school administration,” said Carol Basile, attorney for the Neighborhood Legal Center (NLC), which is representing the Asian American students in all three cases.

The Torrance Unified School District did not return requests for phone interviews. However, on July 28 a statement was issued by Michael Barker, principal of Bert Lynn Middle School, where last April a group of white, Chinese and Korean American students got into a racially motivated brawl.

Barker, in the press statement, said he “regretted the incident occurred” and promised to work toward building a “positive school climate.”

According to the NRC, a group of six white students allegedly approached five Korean American and three Chinese American students and taunted them with names such as “dirty Koreans,” “Asian trash,” and “dog eaters.” Some of the Asian American students then pushed two of the students from the other group and started kicking one person after he fell. The Asian American students were suspended, and Barker brought criminal charges against them because he believed they were part of an Asian gang.

The students were released but a court appearance is scheduled for September, when a probation report will be issued. If the kids stay on probation for six months the case will be dismissed. All of those involved were male.

Barker has since recommended a plan that includes diversity training for all students involved in the incident, the establishment of a Parent Advisory Committee to improve communications with Korean students and parents, counseling for students by the Korean Youth and Community Center, and refocused attention on improving race relations through the Conflict Resolution Program.

Dr. Sandra Moore, vice chairperson of the Congress of Racial Equality, said her organization wants to see to it that the children are exonerated and the principal and vice principal reprimanded. The civil rights group also wants the white students to be charged with a hate crime.

“I know it is a hate crime, it is as far as the Congress of Racial Equality is concerned,” Moore said. “The racial slurs that were hurled at the Asian American children were horrible. After all, they are human beings and the children can only take so much.”

Basile would not go as far as to charge the current case as a hate crime, however, since the perpetrators are children and therefore, may not understand the severity of their actions. But she said she does want the district to set a clear policy so that Asian American parents would be more likely to voice their opinions and concerns for their children.

“Lots of Asian parents don’t speak up [to the administration] because they fear their kids will not be treated fairly at school if they do,” she said. “These suspensions have [rallied] them together.”

The April incident has spurred the Los Angeles Korean American community to protest, and as a result the Congress of Racial Equality of California, The United Society (another Los Angeles-based civil rights group), and Torrance district officials have held meetings to discuss the episode and the boys’ punishment.

“This is an example of overt racism. One of the instructors even made a comment saying ‘That’ll teach them to hit a white student,’” Moore charged.

The manner in which the administration treated the kids was not only unfair, said Basile, but it could also harm the children in the long run. “They handled it too harshly. It has negative effects. It helps the kids to become more delinquent.”

This April incident followed two earlier confrontations in the Torrance Unified School District. In March a fight broke out at J.H. Hull Middle School between a Korean American student and a white student, which resulted in the suspension of the API teenager. Later, however, the school removed the suspension from his record and the superintendent issued a formal apology.

“The way the school handled the situation is wrong. After constant calling and letter writing from the NRC, the superintendent finally spoke with the kid’s parents,” said Basile.

In September 1999, J.H. Hull Middle School was the scene of yet another fight in which a white high school student provoked a Korean American eighth-grader into a brawl. Police were called by the administration, but the officer on-call refused to take statements from the API student or any of the API witnesses, according to the Neighborhood Legal Center. However, the sister of the white student was interviewed. Charges were brought against both students, but the court later dismissed all charges against the Korean American teenager.