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YO!
YO! is a collection of short pieces by the writers at Youth Outlook!
The gang rape of a 15-year-old at Richmond High School last weekend has shaken many of us. The details have made us shudder. We’ve refused to read the details of the assault or we’ve analyzed more than a dozen people watched and did nothing or we’ve quietly thanked women like Margarita Vargas and Atianna Gibbs who upon hearing about the rape say they called the police. More than two hours had already lapsed. The rape has also raised the issue of race. The young white girl in this CNN video protests that school officials are not providing security at Richmond High School because its student body is made up of kids of color. “We are ostracized [by school officials] because of our race and our minorities,” says Kami Baker, who claims that a high school she previously attended had lots of security guards because its student body was mostly white. It’s hard to figure out what’s most disturbing about this video—Kami stumbling through tears and anger to make her points but ending on an enigmatic reference to Asian students or that a white student immediately jumps to the idea of checking the IDs of Latino men as the only way to feel safe or that CNN made no reference in its written report to Kami’s insistence that school security policies vary according to the skin color of students. The rape took place while the school had its homecoming dance and school officials have acknowledged that two site supervisors left the dance at 9pm. They’ve also admitted that the high school has surveillance cameras that don’t work. Meanwhile, the school has received emails from across the nation comparing its students to animals, forcing young people of color in Richmond to defend themselves, their school and their community—precisely at a time when they are in terrible grief and shock. “It’s stigmatizing an entire people,” say Nicholas James, director of special projects with Youth Together, an organization that develops student leaders at six sites in the Bay Area including Richmond High School. “Why can’t we see this for what it is—violence against women of color.” The organization is proposing to have workshops at the high school to talk about the cycles of violence in school and in the larger community. An email circulating on Friday also announced that students are organizing a healing event for next Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 3:30 pm. As of Friday morning, cops had also arrested six people including teenage boys and young men. One of them is a young Black man, whose family insists he was only arrested because he is Black, prompting comments that the family is playing the race card and leaving the rest of us to wonder how much worse this is going to get before it’s over. *** comments |
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I went to RHS…& graduated from there..it’s gotten really bad there..freashmen year the gang population was greatly lowered..the violence has risen in the 7 years since I graduated..it’s a sad reality and I think it’s owed to the fact that the students are not held accountable for their actions just like the adults there. everyone is to blame in this tragic incident including the girl for her lack of good judgement.. I for one have always tried to get the point across to my sisters & family members..always be aware of the people you party with, no matter how great of a “friend” only family will truly watch your back & make sure you are safe..my point is that EVERYONE is to blame, ie..school, her, the assailants, the bystanders, EVERYONE!
By PATTY · Posted on Nov 2, 10:36 PMI went to RHS and graduated in ‘77’ I cannot fathom what has happened at my school. How can law officers allow men on campus that does not even belong there? or the v p not do anything. back in my day the p and v.p were right on top of things.we were not afraid to go to our games we had pride spirit and gratitude for our school where has it gone?To all the students that are there now and believes in RHS may god bring it back to where it once was where everyone can have pride and feel safe .
By sheryl snider crater · Posted on Nov 2, 11:55 PMThe author of this article, Daisy Hernandez, made a false statement about Kami’s video speech. She said, “a white student immediately jumps to the idea of checking the IDs of Latino men as the only way to feel safe” but the girl in the video never mentioned the race of the men standing outside the dance hall, she only said that their ID’s should have been checked and she never said ID check was the only way to feel safe.
Apparently, it is the author of this article who seems to be racist for assuming the men outside were Latino.
Also, Kami is implying that her school was given less security guards because of racism against the multiracial students at her school. She is blaming racism for the lack of security.
The author of this article should watch the video of Kami’s speech again to understand that there is nothing racist about anything Kami said, but rather Kami is accusing school officials of being racist for giving her school less funding for security than a mostly white school with fewer students. This article is disturbing because it falsely accusing a caring girl who made a speech to help increase security to benefit her school.
By Nancy Kallitechnis · Posted on Nov 3, 11:27 AMRemember that the victim was White and that the 7 or more (now the # is at 10) perpetrators were chiefly Hispanic (and one Black, one White). Whites comprise only 2% of the student body. Yet you twist this event around to make non-Whites the victims and Whites as those who are responsible for this. How about blaming the monsters who committed this crime?
As a White man, your type of reasoning both angers and horrifies me. How can you say these things? Is there nothing that Whites will suffer through that people like you will finally accept the fact that we are just as much, if not more, in danger when we are ourselves a minority as any non-White in a majority White area?
Perhaps when you wrote this, you didn’t know the victim’s race, but I’ve been to many many places and have ascertained that the victim is White. Maybe once you discover this for yourself, you will revise your opinion.
By giangurgolo · Posted on Nov 3, 03:51 PMI dont blame it on a racial issue or a security issue. It is a sick and viloent society. My question is WHY was this fifteen year old girl wondering around in the darkness of Richmond? Where were her parents, why wasnt she given instruction to stay in the safty of the school until she could be picked up? Im not blaming the victim but where was her/parents prudence? We need to use common sense in this violent world when it comes to ourselves and out kids. Yes..someone besides the rapist(s)are should take some responsibility.
By Mbates · Posted on Nov 3, 07:15 PMPatty—I agree with you that there’s a lot of blame to go around, but the victim is NOT to blamed. No girl is to blame for her rape, ever, under any circumstances, even if you think she exercised poor judgement. No woman is safe anywhere, Patty. I realize that it’s comforting to think that your vigilance has protected you, but even family and close friends rape girls and women. This is a very complex social problem involving misogyny, racism, confusion of violence with sex, and possibly a complete abandonment of responsibility on the part of the adults in the community. But the victim of this crime is NOT responsible for being raped. Period. Ever.
By MadamaAmbi · Posted on Nov 3, 11:00 PMSorry PATTY. You are wrong. It’s not her fault for being raped, but when you find yourself held down and raped for hours by ten or more men, then left in critical condition, we’ll all be sure to blame you.
By We Are All Human · Posted on Nov 3, 11:12 PMI teach in Richmond, and I would like to echo the comment above. Kami said nothing about the race of the men and boys outside the dance. However, the fact that people were allowed to gather outside the dance without showing proof that they were part of the school community speaks to the total disregard the school showed for the safety of their young men and women.
The fact that adult men who should not have been on campus that night have been accused of participating in the rape underscores this.
This article seems like a mean-spirited attack on a young girl who is accurately identifying and speaking out about the institutional racism that contributed to her friend being attacked. I’m not clear how this is meant to help anyone understand the pain that Richmond and Richmond High School are presently going through.
By BBJ · Posted on Nov 4, 01:31 AMUmmm…my school was mostly white and we hardly had any security and violence issues rarely, RARELY occurred. It has nothing to do with color. It has to do with FUNDING and NEED. A school 15 miles away has mostly minorities and has tons of security and is very strict bc of its issues with gangs or violence. STOP PULLING THE RACE CARD for everything! It has to do with community. The only reason black people have such a negative stereotype when it comes to violence is bc of the statistics of crimes being committed by black people. The skin color is not the issue, it is the environment kids are raised in. Many urban communities breed violence, whether a student is black or white. Instead of calling everybody racist, why not do something to improve the communities where violence is so rampant. If you do the crime, you’re going to get in trouble, black or white. As a black woman I wish the black community would move in the direction of trying to make urban communities a healthier environment, then there would not be such an issue with the correlation between black youth and crime! Many, not all, urban communities tend to have many minorities. They are raised in a violent environment that just keeps up this cycle of violence for minorities. Stop the cycle, and the racial stereotypes will decrease.
By someone · Posted on Nov 4, 03:18 PMHow can you say this has nothing to do with race?
If this girl where a different color and the perpetrators were white, there would be civil rights marches, La Raza or Al Sharpton would be on campus etc.
Now, when a white girl is attacked, the school is telling us to all come together and hold hands.
What did the filthy beasts say when they were hurting her and taking pictures? If they ever said the white word or any like it, then this is a hate crime and even if they preceded with it because of here race. The Justice Department should investigate this also as a hate crime so none of the 20 should ever be allowed to go free.
Then you fire every teacher and administrator at the school and close it forever.
By JerryG · Posted on Nov 6, 03:35 PMOf course Race should be an issue! That is one fact to determine if this crime was motivated by a racial component, which would determine if it was a hate crime. Race is important to evaluate what charges to file.
Rape is terrible in any case but please do not dismiss all the facts.
By Mark Podunk · Posted on Nov 6, 07:44 PMPatty – you should be ashamed of yourself for thinking that this little girl bears even an once of blame. It’s that very lack of compassion and empathy for another human being that leads to people being capable doing something like this .You obviously don’t have any children…hopefully you never will.
By Christine L · Posted on Nov 7, 04:49 PMOf course, the school officials are ultimately responsible, but as the parent of teenagers, it is hard for me to understand why her parents did not report that she never arrived at their car, to the staff at the dance. Had the officials at the dance been notified that a student was MIA, they would have searched immediately.
By Mrs. F. · Posted on Nov 10, 07:37 PMMy heart goes out to the parents, but by 10 PM I would have showed up at the dance to speak to officials and her girlfriends. So many things broke down.
It is truly a tragedy.
Daisy,
How could you blame the white girls who spoke up here? How could you quote someone as saying this was a crime against “women of color”?
You write a lot about race. I can’t believe that you didn’t know the race of this victim.
Don’t you believe that these animals should be convicted of a hate crime?
Didn’t the DA file hate charges against the assailants of a “lesbian” who was gang raped in Richmond in January of 2009?
Why didn’t Geraldo Rivera on his CNN show ever mention the race of this victim when he discussed the crime?
If the girl would have been a different race and the assailants white would you have described the victim’s race?
By JerryG · Posted on Nov 12, 06:17 PMSame old same old. It’s
By Whiteboy · Posted on Nov 18, 11:06 AMbecome okay to attack a
white person “because
they deserve it”. If
it’s any other race, but
particularly black or
hispanic, all hell breaks
loose in the media….
unless the victum is
white… then it’s okay.
After all, they deserve
to suffer as they made
others suffer… but wait,
they didn’t do that,
their parents or grand-
parents did. Oh well,
doesn’t matter, they are
white, the world is against
whites now. So it’s okay.
It’s not abuse, it’s not
violence, it’s not rape,
it’s not a crime. It’s
just…. revenge! Have
fun with that when you
see God.
This article seems like a mean-spirited attack on a young girl who is accurately identifying and speaking out about the institutional racism that contributed to her friend being attacked.
By Term papers · Posted on Dec 30, 12:38 AM