Parents, students at New Haven schools say racism and bias go unchecked

UNION CITY, CA - Some parents and students in Union City are speaking out about what they say is bias and discrimination in the New Haven Unified School District. One parent says she witnessed some of it herself over the years, and now they want change.

"It hurts a little. You don’t want your child to go to school to feel some racism at all. You want them to go to school to learn," said Nelson Mitchell, father of 11th grader Janelle Mitchell. 

What they're saying:

Mitchell and his daughter Janelle say they want to bring awareness to alleged racism and discrimination that Black students are experiencing in the New Haven School District. Janelle describes a recent encounter with a teacher at Conley-Caraballo High School.

"There are many times in class where he will only come up to the African American students and ask us questions or sit there and question us about the work or ask us to put our phones away, even if they’re not out. He’ll demand that we give him our phones when there are other kids that are not of color sitting on their phones, feet kicked up," said Janelle. 

Bianca Gentry is a teacher at Conley and has worked in the district for nine years. She says back in 2021, racist graffiti was left in her classroom at Itliong-Vera Cruz Middle School. Today, she feels like the district’s culture hasn’t changed enough.

"I started a Black Student Union on my campus and that’s when students would come together in community, but it ended up being a venting session where they were undergoing so much trauma on the campus," said Gentry. 

The other side:

New Haven School District Superintendent John Thompson released this statement: 

Still, for parents like Dominique Duncan, who’s had two teenage daughters in the district since kindergarten, the situation is frustrating.

"So, it really is their responsibility to keep this under control. They’re ignoring people. They’re getting angry with the teachers that actually care and are protecting them. They’re acting like it’s not happening, and you can’t just ignore it," said Duncan. 

There were other parents who said their children had similar experiences but decided not to participate in this story. 

The Superintendent also said Gentry's complaints were investigated by an independent investigator and, when provided with evidence, the district took appropriate action. 

He also said they are not immune to issues of racism, but they have no tolerance for racism or discrimination.