Lacking the social media platform that is uniting students in college and universities across the nation, the mother of Za’Khari Waddy is using the media to give attention to the racism her 13-year-old son is facing in middle school. The media should use this story, along with similar stories, to keep a dialogue open about racism, and hopefully be a vocal advocate for change.
Za’Khari’s Encounter With Racist Bullies
At 13-years-old, a boy’s only heartache should be from his first crush. At 13, one of the few disappointments a boy should face is when his team loses a game. For 13-year-old Za’Khari Waddy, his heartache and disappointment came when he was hit head-on with repeated racism.
Since moving to the small, predominantly white, historic area of Yorktown, Virgina, Za’Khari has faced “a lifetime worth’s [sic] of racism from white students” at Tabb Middle School.
His mother, Zettrona Powell, wrote the school a letter, advising them that her honor roll son is being bullied. Her letter explained that Za’Khari has been asked whether he was going to “rape or rob a young lady,” that he has been pushed against lockers, and that he has repeatedly been called the N-word.
In response to her attempts to reach out, the school told her they would “look into it.” If the school did get involved, any conversations they had with the children or their families landed on deaf ears. The harassment continued and led to the abhorrent events that took place on October 27.
In a letter to the school, Za’Khari explained:
“Yesterday on the football bus coming from our football game a kid named [… ] started saying racist things to me. He then started saying he does not like blacks and he told me 200 years ago my ancestors hung from a tree and after he said that I should I hang from a tree. That made me super mad, so in the locker room I told him not to call me n—-r or that I should be hung on a tree. The coaches took me away from the kid because I was really mad and they think I was going to fight him but I want someone to do something about it because I’m tired of boys messing with me because of my skin. I’m at my boiling point with this. Please do something about this because when I bring it to the office/principle you do nothing about it and I’m tired of the racism.”
Mom’s Response
Zettrona taught her son to use his words, not his fists. A part of this lesson was for Za’Khari to write the above letter.
Zettrona heeded her own advice. She used words to reach out to the school, but the school responded as they usually do: they were investigating the matter. Being given the same answer, Zettrona had no reason to believe the school would do something this time. As a result, she turned to media to get Za’Khari’s story heard.
After the New York Daily News published Za’Khari’s story on November 12, the York School District finally responded. Tabb Middle School posted on their website a letter addressed to the media. The letter stated that though they cannot go into specifics about the student in question, they are aware of the situation and have responded according to measures they have in place. These measures range from talking with the alleged bully to expulsion.
School’s Delayed Reaction Is Appallingly Slow
As a parent, I cannot image Zettrona’s growing impatience with the school. I respect her choice in going to the media after the school’s repeated failure to respond. But why was she forced to go to the media, anyway? How did they fail her when their website leads parents to believe they care about children’s safety?
The school district has a variety of information posted on their website regarding bullying, harassment, and discrimination. They link an Anti-Bullying Tip-Sheet with information on what parents should do in response, including informing the school.
Zettrona did this, but the school’s response was too slow. What response they did provide was just not enough.
The most troubling thing is the school district’s promotion on what adults should do to stop bullying. It suggested that adult should model respectful behavior towards others and they should protect “the child who has been bullied when the incident is witnessed or reported.” (Emphasis added.)
Information on a website is one thing, but actual adult intervention is another. In the locker room, the coaches should have pulled the bullies away from Za’Khari instead of pulling Za’Khari away from them. I understand the coaches were diffusing the situation, but they should not have separated Za’Khari alone. The coaches had a great opportunity to teach a valuable lesson to all their athletes about sportsmanship, about tolerance, about racism. The coaches failed.
What The Media And Public Should Do Now
I applaud the media for giving a voice to Za’Khari’s story and for their effort in getting the school’s side of the story. In addition to telling the entire story, the media needs to open, and keep open, a dialogue on racism.
To think that this is exclusive to a small, white community is naive. It is driven by the mentality that racism is dead. It takes unfortunate events, like Za’khari’s, to be reminded of the truth.
We need to continue talking about these issues and we need to discuss how to solve them. Instead of questioning the parents of victims about why they haven’t taken their bullied child out of school, we need to be questioning the parents of the bullies about why they haven’t taught their children about respect and equality.
We need to use our words, as Zettrona is teaching her son. We need to use a national platform to get this message across: bullying and racism cannot be tolerated!
Please, let’s keep this conversation going.
Featured image courtesy of Cliff via Flickr available under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License
