A former North Thurston Public Schools student who now works for the district is raising concerns about the racist language she hears being used by students.
Carletta Garraway, who moved to the area in 1971 and graduated from Timberline High School in 1978, has had three generations of her family go through Timberline, she said.
"So in the last 53 years, I think there's only five years that we haven't had someone either working, volunteering or attending school," she said. "And so I'm very passionate about our community and the things that happen to our kids, especially since I have nieces at every level of education here, and what's been coming to me is issues regarding the use of the n-word, and a lot of the racial things that are happening."
Garraway shared this message during public comment at a recent North Thurston school board meeting.
"In all my years here, even when I went here, when I was one of five black families in the community, I was never called a monkey or gorilla or told that if we lived back in the 1800s that I would be their slaves," she said.
"These are things that our kids are saying to each other, and it's starting to become alarming to me," Garraway said, adding that one of her nieces has been on the receiving end of this kind of language.
She added that the incident with her niece was resolved, but "not necessarily quickly and in a manner which I felt that probably could have happened."
She did acknowledge the work the school district is doing in trying to address issues that involve various communities and underrepresented people within the district.
Still, Garraway, who works in the career and counseling center at Timberline and is an adviser to the Black Student Union at Nisqually Middle School, felt compelled to speak out.
"I come to you because, you know, I'm an employee, and I always kind of felt that I couldn't say anything because I'm an employee, but I'm also, first, an aunt and a member of this community, and what I'm seeing is alarming," she again told the board.
Public comment is limited to three minutes at school board meetings and board members typically don't respond to the comments. Garraway also shared her comments in writing with the board, including ideas that could help.
"I don't believe in coming with concerns without coming with some suggestions and solutions," she said to the board and to The Olympian when the newspaper reached out to her to learn more about her suggestions.
Garraway recommends the following:
— Create a time when the board will conduct public forums/town meetings that directly address some of the issues brought to the board during public comment. This will provide a format to discuss and maybe have problem-solving discussions to support the development of policy and procedure.
— Create a focus/working group to have tough conversations regarding student racial issues. This group needs to include students.
"Students are experiencing things we may not be aware of and should be a part of what they feel is needed from the adults in the room," she said. "I can see this Community Collaboration Group as a powerful tool and supportive resource. Solutions begin one step at a time, and I feel this would be a great big first step."
She would also like to see teachers and staff empowered to address the language being used among students by being trained to address those situations without feeling uncomfortable and understand how different communities like to be addressed.
A big part of this is education, she said. Young people use the n-word, for example, because they hear it in music or see it on social media or read it in a book or hear it in the classroom and they repeat it, but don't fully understand the historical context of the word, Garraway said.
She's also had young people say that when they use the n-word, they use the softer "ga," not the harder "ger."
Both are unacceptable, she said.
"It is not OK on any level for anyone, student or staff," Garraway said in her written comments to the board.
The district responded to Garraway's comments.
"We are committed to ensuring all students feel safe, respected, and able to focus on learning," spokeswoman Amy Blondin said. "Board members carefully review all public comments, including suggestions for improvement. When appropriate, the Board delegates to the superintendent or his designee for follow-up, including in this case."
Anyone who has a concern regarding bullying, harassment, or intimidation can report it to a principal or staff member, or use the online reporting form, the district says.
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