Local moms form ‘Humanity Over Racism’ to address issues in Laramie County school district

CHEYENNE — After incidents of racism in Laramie County School District 1, local moms have established a group called “Humanity Over Racism” in hopes of changing current trends.

The group announced its new name and intent to continue working together during an informal meeting Thursday night held at The Louise event venue downtown.

This wasn’t the first time that the group has gathered. Members originally connected after Jessica Little, a local mother, reached out on Facebook about her daughter’s experience with racism as an 11th-grader at Cheyenne’s South High School.

After a volleyball game, Little’s daughter returned to her car to find the N-word and several swastika symbols drawn in dirt on the car. According to Little, she only found out about the incident from her daughter and received limited communication from the district.

Little said her daughter, described as bubbly, social and very outgoing, took a step back from her normal self after the incident. Afraid to go back to nightly games, the 11th-grader has been worried about the incident recurring or escalating, according to her mom.

“Her awareness has heightened, and she’s a lot more self-conscious about herself,” Little said. “She’s not comfortable in her skin anymore as a Black woman, as a Black girl. That was her very first racial experience, so it took a whole entire toll on her.

“When you get treated like you’re not welcome, you’re not a part of the white community? It took a toll on her, it put her in a hole. So she’s dealing with it the best way she can.”

Little’s Facebook post inspired several families to share their stories, and with the help of Jazzminn Jackson, they were able to host a meeting at The Louise in mid-October to discuss their experiences with racism in LCSD1.

“There’s so many of us, as parents of Black children or mixed children, that have been experiencing all this,” Jackson said. “I wanted to find a place, a way of, ‘How can we, as a community, come together and help each other out?’” Following that meeting, members of the group attended an unusually busy LCSD1 Board of Trustees meeting to express their concerns.

“(I am) angrier than (I was) in the very beginning, just learning everything from the different parents coming to me with their stories,” Little said. “I’ve only confronted the school district once, and I was barely able to do that. My husband approached them, (and) I just felt they did not care that we were there.”

Following the meeting, the district issued a statement, which said, “LCSD1 takes allegations of racism and discrimination very seriously and does not tolerate racist or discriminatory acts. LCSD1 is also governed by federal law, specifically FERPA, which prevents the disclosure of a student’s educational records including any disciplinary actions taken against a student. While the specific resolution of any allegation of racism may not be made publicly available, LCSD1 employs discipline guidelines for student behaviors, which outlines potential consequences that may be imposed depending on the nature of the behavior. The discipline guidelines can be found in the Parent Handbook.”

During Thursday’s meeting, members of the group, now known as Humanity Over Racism, made it clear that they are looking to work with the district, hoping that moving forward they can partner to address the issue.

“Someone in the education system will say, ‘We are already against racism,’” group member Ambreia Meadows-Fernandez said. “Zero-tolerance. But if something is present in culture, there are certain trends and ways things show up. You can be against it intellectually all day. But what is the practice? What is the reframe, the cultural shift that happens to actually reduce (racism).”

Humanity Over Racism wants to work with parents, teachers and the broader community to address racism holistically, according to community member Autumn Monfre.

“We do want (LCSD1’s) support, and we want to work with them,” Monfre said. “This is not a movement against teachers. This is actually a movement for students and for teachers.”

Monfre and her peers acknowledged that teachers are often in a unique position with this issue. They can be people of color or parents to children of color themselves, putting them in the unique position to experience racism, watch their children experience racism and have to work with the district to respond in accordance to policy.

“Most teachers are women, and most teachers are also parents,” Meadows-Fernandez said. “… Just like the rest of us here, (teachers) occupy multiple spaces in the community, often as parents, as well as mentors, as well as educators.”

While members of the group have yet to publicly announce any plans, they did express that they intend to maintain communication among meeting attendees and will formalize their goals and action items which will likely be shared with the public in January.

While the incident that triggered the group’s formation was at South High, the goal is to have parents from all triads involved.

“It’s not just a South triad issue,” Monfre said. “We want to see parents from East and Central here. Particularly, we don’t just want to see people of color. We really do want to see all parents, and we want to work with LCSD1 to the best of our abilities.”

For Little, whose Facebook post motivated the group, the outpouring of support and the number of families who are willing to work together on this has been overwhelming.

“I’m not alone, and it’s an amazing feeling,” Little said. “I am so proud of (the community), and we just started. I’m very proud of them stepping up and working with me and fighting with me. I had no idea it would turn into this.”

This story was published on November 23, 2024.