SPOKANE, Wash. – The first half hour of Thursday night’s Spokane NAACP meeting focused primarily on Mead High School, and the recent hazing allegations regarding the school’s football team.
“When the news broke I had an outcry from the community of ‘this is all racial’,” Spokane NAACP President Lisa Gardner said at the meeting. “Without even knowing the details we were told it was children of color who were victims, it was children of color who were targeted and it was children of color who have been harassed since last July until now.”
Gardner said she went into Monday night’s closed ‘football-only’ meeting () held by Mead, to hear their side of the story.
“To me, there was a lack of humanizing it,” she said. “It was very scripted, it was very legal, it was very cold.”
Gardner also said she had a meeting the following day with Mead Superintendent Travis Hanson.
Before Thursday’s event, Gardner invited attorney Marcus Sweetser, who is representing the victims, to attend, but said he couldn’t due to the nature of ongoing litigation. However, through Gardner, he was able to pass along a message to the local NAACP members.
“While they’re in their investigation, they were saying to us that there might be more victims out there that have not come forward, that they may be scared to come forward,” Gardner said. “They’re looking at gender bias because if this had been little girls that had been sexually assaulted, this would be a completely different case…they’re (also) looking at racial intimidation and racial misconduct by the school district.”
Gardner hopes anyone who may have tangible evidence will come forward to share their story.
“I told (Sweetser), I’m born and raised in Spokane, and Mead’s reputation has been of being insensitive to families and communities of color,” she said. “Their reputation of not working with communities of color speaks for itself, there’s that proof there. However, we can’t use that in court, they need actual evidence.”
In a statement, the Mead School District responded saying:
“Superintendent Hanson said he greatly appreciated the open dialogue he was able to share with Ms. Gardner. As a learning organization committed to educating and caring for all kids – especially those who are targeted or harassed – the Mead School District will not shy away from better understanding and addressing racism and harassment in all forms. We are committed to work already underway and will continue to seek additional opportunities with community partners and trusted professionals who can help provide support through these complex conversations. We must ensure that our schools are places of belonging and that we are taking real and actionable steps toward a culture of dignity and respect for every student we serve.”
