Racial Tensions Soar at Local High Schools

Summary

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As Latino and African American groups coalesce in efforts to address the problem, one general consensus seems to be forming, that is: "It needs to stop." "Yes its true we're [graduating] seniors," said one Santa Monica High student during a campus press conference last Friday where Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (M.E.Ch.A.) and Black Student Union (BSU) members joined together to "show solidarity." "But if we don't stop it, it's just going to continue on with our lower classmen."

Last month parents, students, educators and city officials gathered at Long Beach's Cabrillo High School after racial tensions and violence in the city exploded in the brutal murder of student Demetrius Williams at the hands of Latino gang members. The Long Beach forum attendees cited problems such as fear of other races, insufficient school police and lack of parental involvement. "This problem starts at home," said one LB community member. "Children only come to the street and emulate what's acceptable in their home setting... The attitude of each person toward each other sets the precedent for what's going on in the streets..."

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Racial Tensions Soar at Local High Schools

A recent wave of school violence in Los Angeles County involving African American and Latino students has left community activists, students, school officials and parents of both races scrambling to understand its ...

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