Racist Instagram post directed at middle school students being investigated
The Jordan School District is investigating an Instagram post with ties to Sunset Ridge Middle School, but officials have not yet found the person who made the post that mocks a number of black students by showing their faces along captions such as, "shut up you're black." (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
WEST JORDAN, Utah (KUTV) — The frequency of racist incidents in Utah schools is now an emergency, according to one activist reacting to the latest act of racism plastered all over social media.
The Jordan School District is investigating an Instagram post with ties to Sunset Ridge Middle School, but officials have not yet found the person who made the post that mocks a number of Black students by showing their faces along captions such as, "shut up you're black."
The account had over 100 followers, and the account name used a derogatory term resembling the "N-word."
“It's never ending, it just seems to happen almost every day," said Darlene McDonald with the Utah Black Roundtable. "This is an emergency, we're in crisis mode now."
McDonald is calling on the governor and other state leaders to hold the people who do this accountable, adding, “I would like to know how long it was allowed to exist before someone found it and reported it — 107 followers is a lot, that's a lot for a racist page.”
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A spokesperson with the Jordan School District called the post racist and said district leaders are now making sure every student in the photo feels safe and supported.
McDonald said she thinks those students feel traumatized, that her “heart goes out to them. They’re un-safe, un-supported.”
She said honest conversations over the history of racism in this country will help stop these repeated racist acts.
McDonald added that it's incidents like this that bring up memories of Izzy Tichenor, a 10-year-old Black girl who died by suicide after being bullied.
“We don't want to bury another child in our community because of bullying, and racism and racist attacks,” McDonald said.
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Here is the full statement the Jordan School District provided to 2News:
The content of the Instagram page is upsetting, inappropriate, racist and not something we condone or tolerate in any way.
We took action immediately to get the page removed. Law enforcement was brought in and it was reported to Instagram on multiple occasions by multiple people. The page has now been removed by Instagram and we continue to investigate who was involved or responsible for the page. When those responsible are identified, we will work with law enforcement to hold them accountable.
Work is being done to make sure every student identified in the photos feels safe and supported.
We take this very seriously and we do not tolerate racism or cyber-bullying in any form.
This is not the climate and culture representative of Sunset Ridge Middle School.
We are committed to equity, inclusion and safety for every student.
Anyone with information that can help identify those responsible for the page can contact West Jordan Police (there is a case number) or they can call the District reporting line at 801-567-8330.
