Racial Violence In Schools
Many of the people may not be aware of what is going on in some of the schools as they are not in direct contact with those whether are they too much interested in these things. Or, moreover, they are just ignorant as no one really has the courage to admit that something is actually wrong.
Duong Hghe Ly is one of the people that confronted with this violence that little talk about. Anyhow, he had the courage to admit it and to actually do something about it. He is soon to begin his senior year at the South Philadelphia High School and he can’t wait to see whether anything has changed in his high school.
It was widely known in that community that the Asian immigrants were subjected to violence from the part of the black students. However, this was seen as being a thing that no one entered in as they were as well afraid by the black people that were studying in the school. But on 3rd December 2009 all just burst out.
Then a group of students were on the halls of the high school in search for Asian victims. They have decided to take over the cafeteria, therefore 70 black students started beating every Asian student they met in their way.
While the attackers were black, not all believe that these attacks had racial motives, but moreover, gangster values that they had and that they believed they should share with the others. Some may as well, have acted like this as they may believe that the Asians are granted more benefits by the school.
That day, about thirty Asian students were harmed and some of them were even taken to the hospital. Even though past attacks were reported to the police nothing seemed to have changed and to have been done against these attacks.
While Ly was not involved and hurt in this “riot”, he was followed home, days after and he was then punched in the face. He decided then he should take some more serious measures into this, as he and his parents did not struggle a lifetime to get somewhere and to get rid of the poverty they were in, so as him to be beaten by some people that want to show their “superiority”.
They came from Vietnam two years earlier and he then spoke just little English. The way they all saw America will be, changed from the very first day they arrived and he got to school. His parents are ethnic Chinese people that lived and worked in Vietnam for 27 years and struggled all that time to maintain him and his brother to schools. The immigration papers to the United States they first submitted in 1981, and ever since they have provided more and more money there until they were finally admitted and they could start over in the United States and their sons will be able to have a better life than theirs.
In 2008, after having spent almost $20,000 on their fees, the family was finally approved to come to Philadelphia “We finally achieved our wish: freedom,” Tu Ly says. “We finally had a chance for a better education.”.
While in their first year of school both Ly and his brother were subjected to violations and they could not respond to them as they were advised not to as it would be much better like this, but they decided then to take action into it “Before, I was timid. I didn’t really want to get myself into trouble,” says Ly, 18. Then he realized, “If everybody’s silent, nobody speaks up, the problem keeps going on without being resolved. I feel like I or my friends have to speak up and organize to tell people this is not right.
After what happened on December 3rd about a dozen of black students were suspended or expelled from the school. They have not made any public comment regarding this and nor anyone has given their names. While some understand them like Wali Smith, a specialist who holds workshops on anger management, says that he understand where the attacks come from: “Those (black) kids feel the majority of the staff there does not care about their education,” Smith says. “They see these Asian kids come in and be nurtured, and they want that same kind of comfort,” some other students show at most the mere sympathy they can for their fellow colleagues that acted like that: “They’re just hating on other races. They don’t have anything better to do with their lives,” says Tyreke Williams, who graduated last June.
Another way that Smith explains it is that “It’s not based on race, it’s based on opportunity,” “If they go to the bathroom and take your money, and you don’t report it, they’ll just keep riding it until the wheels fall off.”
Regarding the allegations and what is said to be happening in their school, the school administrators defend themselves by saying that they took it into their hands to resolve the problem that the Asians were dealing with. Anyhow, they believe that violence has become a culture for some of the youths from Philadelphia.
Despite everything that is going on there, Ly seems to be quite satisfied with his school; he enjoys having English as a Second Language Program and the teachers really care that people study there and give their best for those that are interested into studying: “If I study hard I will get a lot of opportunities, scholarships, grants…,” he says. “It’s rewarding to work hard and study hard here, more than in Vietnam. I can go to a better school, go to college, get a career, then I can take care of my parents. So I like it more here.”
The school has as a principal, the Otis Hackney 37 years old, that is a black Philadelphian native and as he heard of the boycott, which eth Asian students decided to make against the violence they were subjected to, he “My first thought was, you’ve got to be kidding me,” Hackney says during an interview in his new office. Anyhow, the Asian students had to be mad heard in some way.
The new agenda of the principal includes building a relationship with the Asian community and creating group of school stakeholders who are to meet regularly to set goals. He is the fifth principal in this school in the last six years, but he intends to stick around for more time. Therefore, he wants to be regarded buy the students, as if anyone has anything to say, to come to him and he will be there to listen.
In this regard there is much more to tackle with than just with the violence that the Asian children have to put up with. Is goes as far as to the State Department, as the Vietnamese embassy has put a complaint to the U. S. State Department and as well the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund filled a complaint with the Justice Department. This triggers actions to be taken as fast as possible.
The job he has to compel is rather difficult: “That’s one side. The other side is, when you have an immigrant population that comes in, what are the skill sets they need to function in this society? It can be very difficult for that child and that family to function in schools. So how do you put all that together? That’s my job.
“Part of it is getting people to see the human side in every person, identifying with their struggle. Once people begin to do that, you realize folks aren’t as privileged as you think they are. They don’t speak the language. They don’t have that many advantages over you. You’re just not taking advantage of the ones you have.”
On Wednesday school is about to begin and the senior year with it. Children like Ly, can hardly wait to learn some more interesting things and to complete their studies. However, he has trust in the future system that will defend their rights as human beings, in the first place.
