SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
A Black student from C.K. McClatchy High School will face disciplinary action after confessing to having labeled water fountains at the school “White” and “Colored,” Sacramento City Unified School District's race and equity liaison said on Friday.
Last week, the racist markings were found at C.K. McClatchy High School, prompting an investigation. The school district worked with the Sacramento Police Department to identify the person as a SCUSD student, which was announced on Thursday.
The student has been identified as a sophomore who attends McClatchy, Attorney Mark Harris told KCRA 3.
"It appears as though a young African American student participated in what she thought was a prank. She has confessed to doing that," Harris said. "... A prank that went sideways. It’s an unfortunate prank. It does not seem to be an example of any kind of hate crime, it’s not an example in my opinion of any kind of racist behavior pattern. It was a prank."
Harris believes no other student was involved in the graffiti, but did mention that another person might have filmed it.
The case has been turned over to the District Attorney's office who will decide if the student will face charges. Harris said an arrest is possible, but that it was more likely the student would face expulsion or suspension as punishment.
"It was most distressing that the young woman who put the two words over the water fountains was not aware of the significance of that. Genuinely, was not aware," Harris said.
Betty Williams, president of the Greater Sacramento NAACP, released a statement about the incident, saying the school district "has not been fully transparent in its investigation process."
"The Greater Sacramento NAACP is extremely concerned with the persistent culture of racism, violence and microaggressions towards Black students. The investigation process is not fair, as evidenced by the swift investigation and closure of the C.K. McClatchy incident where the perpetrator(s) are allegedly Black. Meanwhile, the perpetrators of the hate crimes at West Campus are still at-large, and it seems the SCUSD is protecting them from prosecution," Williams said in the statement.
Williams says the district received millions in funding to address pandemic-related issues for Black and brown students, and calls for "culturally appropriate student supports" from Black community organizations to address these students' needs.
The Sacramento City Unified School District said it is investigating the water fountain incident along with other racist graffiti found at another school in the district.
"Sac City Unified takes any instance of racial intolerance extremely seriously because such acts harm our students and our entire community," SCUSD Superintendent Jorge Aguilar wrote in a release on Thursday. "While identification of the person involved in this incident has been addressed, we will remain focused on supporting the healing of students and staff who have been impacted by this troubling act of vandalism."
Days after the vandalism at the fountains, the school district said on Tuesday that it discovered more racist graffiti, this time along an outside wall at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School.
The school district said it is working with the Rancho Cordova Police Department with this investigation.
Community leaders met Thursday morning to speak out against the graffiti found at the elementary school.
“This kind of act is unacceptable…whoever this is in Sac City Unified that seems to be running around trying to scare people, we are going to find you," Rancho Cordova City Council Member Garrett Gatewood announced in front of a crowd.
In recent months, the school district has made steps to address racism within its system. In late January, SCUSD hired attorney Mark. T Harris as its first-ever racism liaison. The hiring was announced after two high-profile racism investigations from 2021.
Last June, a seventh-grade teacher at Kit Carson International Academy was caught on video using a racial slur in front of her classroom. In November, the same derogatory slur was found on West Campus High School, written multiple times near Vice-Principal Elysse Versher’s parking spot.
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