Lincoln-Way High School District 210 board members will allow six students who engaged in racist taunting of Homewood-Flossmoor High School community members during a football game Sept. 4 to voluntarily withdraw from the district, after voting unanimously on the matter Thursday.
“This investigation, which involved interviewing numerous students, reviewing multiple video recordings and angles, and speaking with their attorneys, took the administration only eight school days, and ultimately resulted in the administration recommending expulsion for the students determined to have been involved,” District 210 Superintendent Scott Tingley said.
He said the students’ parents chose to voluntarily withdraw their children, forfeiting all student privileges, rather than continue with the process.
The decision followed a walkout at Lincoln-Way East where about 50 students protested the racist taunting by their peers at the football game against H-F, along with similar actions alleged at a girls cross-country meet the following day.
Tingley said he was confident the matter was handled “as quickly and responsibly as possible” and said the district was committed to provide training and support in restorative justice, equity, inclusion and student wellness.
After being pressed by community members Thursday night, Tingley said the district plans to send a survey to students next week to assess how students perceive the climate of their schools and to ensure their needs are being met.
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Kelly Johnson, parent of a Lincoln-Way East student and varsity football player, said she was happy the district planned to send out a culture survey but asked that the results be made public.
“Don’t do it and not tell us what the results are,” Johnson said. “Without a baseline, we can say that we’re doing better, and I think some people do say we’re doing better … but we have no way to know if our students actually feel that difference.”
Lincoln-Way Central senior Josie Hillegass asked that administrators acknowledge that racism remains an issue across the entire district and to take meaningful steps to address it.
“Stop sweeping this under the rug,” Hillegass said. “Students at Central want to talk about it, and we want to make it better. Please take action as a school district to address this with students across the community.”
District 210 has three campuses: Lincoln-Way Central and West high schools in New Lenox and Lincoln-Way East High School in Frankfort.
Other speakers expressed frustration that the students involved in racist taunting were allowed to withdraw from the district, rather than face consequences for their behavior.
Sequoia Williams, of Country Club Hills, said she found the choice “problematic, because there is no accountability.”
“Our children don’t feel safe in their communities, and if your children cannot do what they need to do when they come to our side of town, keep them here,” she said.
The district did not take action against students or staff members who H-F officials said were involved in racist comments ahead of a cross-country race Sept. 5.
Student athletes from H-F said they witnessed a Lincoln-Way East coach make comments about running “past those monkeys” to the Lincoln-Way team before the start of the race, according to a news release from H-F District 233. Some team members then began cheering and “making noises that were racist” along with “monkey gestures,” the news release states.
Tingley said the district is cooperating with the Illinois High School Association’s investigation into the events and acknowledged that H-F board members threatened legal action in response. He said he would not share more until the investigation concluded.
Lincoln-Way District 210 officials previously defended the team, saying coaches during the Lyons Township High School cross-country meet “merely recounted a well-known story about an area of the Lyons Township course referred to as ‘the jungle,’” according to their statement. Officials said the girls cross-country coaching staff and team members were unaware of Lincoln-Way students’ actions at the previous night’s football game.
Terry Jackson, education committee chair at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s far south suburban branch, said the NAACP stands with H-F in light of the recent incidents, committed to ensuring “every student is treated with dignity, fairness and respect.”
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The board and superintendent did not make any response to the Sept. 9 student walkout. Ahead of the event, Lincoln-Way East Principal Toriano Griggs warned of potential discipline for participants, including receiving an unexcused absence.
But several people who spoke during the board meeting commended students who took part in the walkout and asked they not be punished for their advocacy.
“We tell children to stand up to bullying, we tell them to report discrimination. We tell them to not be bystanders, even when doing the right thing is difficult,” Jazmin Malinowski said. “So when they actually find the courage to do exactly that, our response should not make them wish that they remained silent.”
Malinowski said Black students need to know that when they walk into a classroom, onto a field or in the stands, their dignity is not negotiable.
“What happened at the sporting events should disturb all of us,” she said. “Black students should never have to attend school sporting events and hear monkey noises, see monkey gestures or feel as though the color of their skin has made them a target.”