Content warning: The details in this story contain descriptions and illustrations of racist acts, including racist tropes.
Hundreds of parents showed up at Tuesday's school board meeting in Upland to demand action after a series of racist incidents at one elementary school.
More people than the room could handle showed up to hear how Upland Unified School District officials are addressing the racist and bullying incidents at Pepper Tree Elementary School. At the center of the outrage are derogatory, offensive and racist drawings given to a Black student earlier this month.
The mom of that student went before the board members Tuesday night asking why the district took so long to acknowledge the incident.
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"Your statement didn't come out until this was presented to the media, it has been over two weeks," she said.
The drawings were addressed to her 6th grade daughter, whom she's since pulled from Pepper Tree Elementary, and to Christopher Newman's son, who says his 11-year-old has continued to be harassed by the same students.
"Monkey noises have been made. That child was saying, 'Hey, do you want to see a picture of yourself?' There was a picture of a monkey," Newman said.
He said when he brought up the harassment to school officials, they told him they could not find evidence of it happening.
"Every day its been a struggle. All day I'm just worried about him, just not sure what he's experiencing," Newman said. "It's very difficult."
The school board and superintendent offered an apology and acknowledged their communication could have been more timely.
They promised parents full accountability.
"We are gong to have zero tolerance and I'll tell you exactly what zero tolerance is: racism will not be tolerated," said Sherman Garnett, the Upland Board of Education president.
But other parents say the racism goes beyond the drawings and has been going on for years, most recently during Black History Month.
"Because they are biracial my niece was told, 'We are just going to celebrate you for half the month,'" said Amber Douglas Rodrigues.
School officials say they can't disclose what disciplinary action they've taken, but parents are demanding systemic change, not just an apology.
"I think it's bigger than that at this point. They want action from the school," Rodriguez said. "They want to be part of a community that's inclusive and safe."
