The murder of George Floyd on May 25 sparked global protests against racism and police violence, including protests in Naperville and Aurora. Weeks of ongoing protests stimulated conversations about racism that have been shoved under the rug for too long. 

“As an African American student myself, it’s kind of disheartening that we’re still having this conversation,” senior Ijeoma Ogbonna said. “We’re still seeing these trends in 2020 and even people of color, in general, are still being mistreated and discriminated against.”

The Parent Diversity Advisory Council held a Zoom meeting on June 11 to listen to students’ concerns about racial inequality in District 204 and to shine a light on racism outside of the classroom. PDAC is a parent organization that meets throughout the year to support inclusion and diversity across the school district. 

District 204 graduates and current students organized the meeting after students stated racial slurs on video that was later posted on social media. The videos caught attention quickly, causing several students to email Metea teachers and administrators with regards to the video. The student organizers invited School Board President Michael Raczak, Chief Academic Officer Kathy Pease, Waubonsie Valley Assistant Principal Charles Bibbs, Neuqua Valley Principal Dr. Lance Fuhrer, and Metea Valley Principal Dr. Darrell Echols also attended the meeting.

“The great part about PDAC is that it is a visible organization,” Executive Director of Educational Equity and PDAC co-chair Jennifer Rowe said. “PDAC is able to really facilitate and host that event. It was great that the kids know that as an organization that they could connect with to facilitate this dialogue.”

Student and district members discussed sensitive topics. Throughout the meeting, students shared stories about seeing or experiencing racism. Most of the students’ incidents were microaggressions from teachers giving different students more empathy and trust than others.  One Metea graduate, who shared her story anonymously, talked about a teacher telling her she wouldn’t do well in that class, rather than offering extra help. As a student who is Black and Hispanic, she felt like the teacher had lower expectations for her because of her race. 

“It’s inspiring to hear people talk about their experiences with racism, because it’s not just sad to see, but it takes a certain amount of courage for them to stand up and talk about it,” Metea graduate Karthik Pasupula said.

The meeting also covered topics including the achievement gap and the push for awareness in the curriculum. Students elaborated on the inequality towards resources for underprivileged students in the school community. In addition, others discussed the lack of implementation and opportunities to learn about social justice and racism in the school curriculum. 

“I felt more connected especially to those who spoke and had their own experiences to share as well,” senior Justin Campbell said. “I think it’s important for us to have a situation where we talk about the world and I push for it more in the classroom because it could really open those doors of unity for not only Metea but schools everywhere.” 

Following the students’ testimonies, teachers and administrators responded to them by acknowledging their courage to share the issues behind closed doors. Raczak continued to add comments revolving around a partnership between the student body and the staff. 

“Get uncomfortable and talk to some African American students on learning the history, especially behind racial slurs,” Ogbonna said.“That’s something that a lot of us can throw around as a joke, so we all need to do better and educate ourselves on different issues on backgrounds that are different than ours.”

Part of the district’s work to re-evaluate their approach to learning and curriculum is through a voluntary program called Black Lives Matter Summit this summer. The summit is self paced and three weeks long. The program includes content about the history of African Americans and modern day issues.

Teachers and staff access resources from the program including documentaries and articles in relation to group discussions. The program also includes panel discussions such as last Tuesday’s panel, Young Gifted, and Black. D204 graduates including Marcus Towns (Metea Valley ‘15) and Sannah Boyd (Metea Valley ‘17) were invited to talk about the allyship, equity in education, and implicit bias in the community.