Students at Oak Creek East Middle School walked out of class Friday, protesting what they say is ongoing racism inside the school and frustration with how administrators have handled complaints.
The walkout comes after eighth grader McKenzie McCoy said another student used racial slurs toward her and her friends earlier this week.
“Another student was telling people, ‘Oh I’m going to call the KKK on you guys,’ following me and my friends around,” McCoy said.
McCoy said the incident quickly escalated, leaving students upset and emotional throughout the school day.
Watch: Oak Creek students walk out over racism concerns, say issue is ongoing
“These words mean so much. It’s not just a word. It has some serious background around it,” she said.
McKenzie’s mother, Patrice McCoy, said her daughter called her from school after the incident happened.
“Yesterday my daughter called me from school saying that a young lady said the n word,” Patrice McCoy said.
She said she later went to the school to speak with administrators but left feeling dismissed by the response.
“She basically said that if you want to go to school from home for the rest of the year you can do that,” McCoy said administrators told her.
But McCoy said keeping her daughter home would not solve the larger issue.
"Absolutely not,” she said. “She is going to be here every single day because staying home won’t solve the problem.”
After sharing her daughter’s experience in a Facebook post Thursday night, McCoy said the response from students and families across the district was overwhelming. By Friday morning, students had organized a walkout outside the school.
Standing alongside dozens of classmates holding signs, McKenzie said this was not an isolated incident.
“No one should have to come to school scared of people coming up to them calling them a slur,” she said.
She also said she felt the situation could have been handled differently by school leaders.
“I just feel like this could’ve been handled in a different way,” McKenzie said.
Other students at the walkout said they have experienced similar incidents for years.
“Ever since I was in 6th grade through 8th grade, I’ve experienced multiple cases of racism. Basically, every single day, from multiple people,” said eighth grader Sofia Rojo.
Rojo said many students have avoided reporting incidents because they do not believe enough action will be taken.
“I’ve never felt comfortable enough to go up to administration and talk about it because I’ve heard about experiences that other people have had, and they haven’t done anything about it,” she said.
She added that many students wanted to participate in Friday’s walkout but could not because they lacked parental permission.
“There was also a lot of people who couldn’t come out here because they didn’t have parent permission, but I know there’s a lot of people inside that would’ve loved to come out here and walk,” Rojo said.
Rojo said she hopes the demonstration pushes the district to pay closer attention to the issue.
“Nothing has really been fixed and I feel like with more people speaking up more things will happen,” she said.
Students themselves helped organize the event, making signs the night before the protest.
“I’ve always wanted to do something like this, but I was never confident enough to bring it up,” Rojo said. “But recently there’s been a lot of things happening all in one day yesterday, so we all grouped up and decided to do the walkout.”
Seventh grader Daniel Navarro said the racism he has experienced at school has deeply affected him emotionally.
“I’m Mexican, and I’ve been called names, slurs, and I’ve actually cried myself to sleep because of the slurs that people call me,” Navarro said.
Navarro said the problem has become so severe that he is now transferring schools.
“It’s actually the reason I’m moving schools,” he said.
He said some students downplay racist comments, but he believes the impact is much more serious.
“Sometimes people say it’s not that big of a deal, but it is that big of a deal,” Navarro said. “It’s that big of a deal that people feel they can say those things and want to say those things.”
Navarro also said he has been disappointed by his experience at the school.
“Since I came here in sixth grade, I’ve heard great things about this school, but I cannot back them up,” he said.
Other students who joined the walkout said they wanted to support classmates affected by racism, even if they were not personally targeted.
“Even though it wasn’t directed towards my race or my ethnicity, I just didn’t think it was cool because there’s no reason to be doing that,” said eighth graders Nicholas and Caden De Leon.
The two friends also said they felt the punishments given to the students involved were not enough to address the issue.
“They never got the point. All they got was detention, and they never got the point,” they said.
Parents and students said they understand racism is not a problem that can be solved overnight, but they want the district to begin working with families toward meaningful solutions.
“I get it’s not going to be solved overnight but at least say let’s come to the table and find some solutions,” Patrice McCoy said.
TMJ4 News reached out to both the school and the district for comment but has not yet heard back.
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