LYNWOOD, Calif. – The Lynwood Unified School District (LUSD) will hold a school-wide assembly and parent meetings today to address anti-Black graffiti found in the bathroom on one of its high school campuses.
School board member Gary Hardie Jr. took to social media to address the issue head-on.
Lynwood Unified School District is proud to be a community that embraces and promotes diversity and inclusion on all our campuses.
The District has recently been made aware of two incidents involving racial slurs graffitied in the restrooms at Firebaugh High School.
Marco Antonio Firebaugh High School staff immediately addressed the incidents by closing the restroom when the graffiti was discovered, reporting the incident to District administration, contacting the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to file a report, and removing the graffiti.
The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department is currently investigating these incidents as felony hate crimes and is working to identify the person or persons responsible.
Lynwood Unified School District is committed to academic excellence for all students and providing a safe working environment for all employees. Any form of racism, discrimination, and bullying are prohibited and are not tolerated.
As we work to ensure a safe and inclusive environment for all, we will continue working with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department to ensure that the person or persons responsible be held accountable for the harm these incidents have caused our community.
Gary Hardie Jr.
The ethnic makeup of Lynwood schools is 94% Hispanic / Latino and nearly 5% Black.
The photos show “I hate Blacks” and “go back to Africa” being written on the sides of multiple bathroom doors in the boy’s bathroom.
It is alleged the graffiti was allowed to remain on the doors for several days until the Black janitor saw it and had it removed, however, it was only allowed to remain up until law enforcement arrived to conduct their investigation, then it was promptly removed.
The district is hopeful today’s assembly will be the first step to address the issue.