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Youth Together Rallies Against Violence in Richmond High

Friends and family of Clifford “Buddy” Jones mourn the Richmond teenager’s recent death. Photo by Ji Lim.

By Ji Hyun Lim

With the recent string of shooting rampages at places such as Columbine High School and Santana High School, school safety is no longer a given. Arguably, more youth than ever before, are aware of the realities of violence.

That may ring especially true in the Bay Area. Richmond Police Department reported that in 2000, there were 137 cases of juvenile crime, involving homicide, assault with deadly weapons, or robbery, which victimized 107 individuals. In 1999, those numbers were even higher, with 165 youth involved in crime and 129 victims. Moreover, in recent years, there have been two to four homicides of Richmond students within a two-mile radius of their schools.

The statistics have left city policy-makers and Richmond High School administrators scrambling for solutions.

On March 28, Richmond High School partnering with Youth Together, a community organization, staged a speak-out to address school violence. An auditorium packed with students, parents and local officials discussed the sources of violence, as well as solutions to the problem.

Mindy Saephanh, a student member of the Youth Together, said the rally has raised consciousness and is a first step to change. According to Saephanh, racial stereotypes of Asian Americans as “smart” or as “gangsters,” have polarized the community on Richmond high school campuses.

“We do have the same struggle,” said Saephanh, who is Mien American. “Our ancestors fought hard and died and we should fight for the same struggle instead of fighting each other.”

Issues facing API students were highlighted during the event in a skit presented by Richmond/San Pablo Youth Program. Called “Caught Up,” the play was about an Asian American youth, who gets caught up in drugs and crime.

Following the play, there was a panel discussion, that included Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia; Richmond Mayor Rosemary Corbin; West Contra Costa Unified School District Board President George A. Harris III; Sary Tatpaporn of the Asian Family Service Center; and Richmond City Councilmen Gary Bell.

During the panel discussion, Youth Together Moderator Alexis Pusina posed questions on what causes violence and how to deter it. Students and parents spoke impassioned words.

“The root cause of violence is problems at home and problems with peers,” one parent said. “What’s different, in my day, we didn’t worry so much about being disrespected. What I don’t understand is [that now] an act of disrespect can be an act of violence.”

Ageanna Ropati speaks out at the Youth Together rally.

Student Ageanna Ropati had different ideas. “The root cause of violence is that we don’t have the kind of love that you guys had back in the days,” she said tearfully. “We need people to care for us. We need you to be there for us.”

During the open mic session, panelists and students fleshed out issues. Policy-makers urged students to communicate their needs and participate in the political process. But some disgruntled students felt that channels of communication were not open.

Policymakers were open to suggestions on how to use some $450,000 at Richmond High School to combat violence. Students were adamantly opposed to using the money for surveillance cameras on campus. They said that wouldn’t catch the root of the problem.

A student protested, “You wouldn’t want to have cameras watching you at work so why should we have camera on campus?” The auditorium roared in agreement.

Some youths suggested that the money should be used for a youth center or a youth café, where students could relax, play recreational sports, study — and stay off the streets.

“It’s a first step in a very long process,” said Jason Wallace, psychologist for Richmond High School. “The next step would be to putting together a working group to design a proposal for youth center or youth café.”