Powhatan NAACP lays out demands for county school board on racism, LGBTQ+ hate speech

POWHATAN COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — The Powhatan County chapter of the NAACP presented its policy recommendations for the county’s school board at a town hall on Thursday, outlining demands for change regarding hate speech in schools.

The evening of Thursday, May 2, the Powhatan NAACP laid out several proposed revisions to school policy when addressing incidents of racist and anti-LGBTQ+ speech.

How did we get here?

Community members have been sounding the alarm on such discrimination within Powhatan County Public Schools for some time now, most recently in regard to an incident where a slur for Black people was written on a Powhatan High School student’s arm .

“Thus far, we have seen some added attention at the building level by administrators in acknowledging and disciplining racial and LGBTQ+ harassment endured by our Black, Brown and queer students,” a spokesperson for the organization told 8News in an email about the town hall. “But the overall climate of the Middle and High Schools remains unsafe and discriminatory, as students and staff continue to face retaliation for reporting and standing up against racism and homophobia in the school system.”

In a presentation shared by the organization during the town hall, multiple text messages, photographs and firsthand accounts of racism within Powhatan County Public Schools were shown.

This included a photograph reportedly taken in April where students appeared to play hangman with a racist phrase, as well as Snapchat images seemingly sent by students saying they “hate pride [month]” and that it’s “wrong” to wear “gay a– flags.”

What is the NAACP asking be done?

The Powhatan chapter of the NAACP is making multiple suggestions to the school board, which it intends to bring directly to the board during its upcoming meeting on May 7.

According to the organization’s presentation, parents are being encouraged to come out that night in support of these changes in what the chapter is calling “Pack the House For Policy Change.”

The first change would be to formally define hate speech as the following: “Hate speech is any form of expression through which speakers intend to vilify, humiliate, or incite hatred against a group or a class of persons on the basis of race, religion, skin color, sexual identity, gender identity, ethnicity, disability, or national origin.”

The organization is also asking for changes to be made to how the school division responds to discipline codes RB8 and RB9, which have to do with hate speech. The codes themselves are defined by the state and have consequences on a level 1 to 5 scale.

The chapter is asking that hate speech only trigger level 4 or 5 responses at the secondary level in Powhatan’s schools, depending on how many times a student has committed a related offense.

On a first offense, a student would receive a level four response of a short-term out-of-school suspension of four days and restorative action. On a second offense, a student would receive a level four response of a short-term out-of-school suspension of ten days and restorative action.

On a third offense, a student would receive a level 5 response of long-term suspension and/or alternative placement.

“We also noted that we believe a full, mandatory K-12 inclusive curriculum is necessary to ensure that children are educated on how to prevent and stand up against discrimination prior to incidents of hate speech occurring,” the chapter said in the email.

Through this three-step process — “Policy Change,” “Policy Enforcement” and “Education & Healing,” as described in a flyer for “Pack the House for Policy Change” — the organization believes racial discrimination can be better addressed in the county’s schools.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WRIC ABC 8News.