Racial conflict is a well-documented issue at DeKalb High School and the community it serves.

The school’s checkered past is the result of an unhealthy learning environment due to racial strife among students and faculty at DHS.

In an effort to change directions and move the school away from discrimination, the district replaced outgoing administrators with a new principal, two assistant principals and an athletic director, who are focusing on learning and achievement.

“There has been a real positive focus and positive attitude by students and teachers this year compared to last year,” said DHS Assistant Principal John Rodriguez.

Dating back to the 2003 school year, issues of racial discrimination by white administrators and both black and white students resulted in a task force that conducted an analysis of the present educational and cultural conditions at DHS.

The task force’s main objective was “to bring forth positive change within the environment of DeKalb High School,” according to the final report published early this year.

While DHS sophomore Josh Hetland’s comment, “There is no tension whatsoever,” may be considered an overstatement, the comment is indicative of the progress DHS is making.

The bottom line is that students need to learn and achieve,” said DHS Principal Lindsey Hall. Such sentiment has translated into creating a more conducive learning environment “with constant dialogue between administrators, teachers and students.”

E.G. Weekly and the Black Student Union

One of the important dialogues is between the school’s extracurricular Black Student Union and administrators. The concept of a Black Student Union was first proposed when Menelek Shah, DeKalb High School’s BSU adviser and creator, brought the issue to the attention of former administrators in the 2003-2004 school year; followed by its first official meeting on Jan. 27, 2004. The BSU was created as a group to explore the roots and heritage of African-American history instead of the “euro-centric” course of study the American educational system is based on, said Shah.

“The curriculum is geared to European history,” Shah said. “When you can’t relate to what is being taught, the education becomes weak.”

But the group has been at the center of controversy. When the BSU was first created, “[Administrators] spread rumors that the group was recruiting for religious purposes,” Shah said.

Some white students and administrators questioned the motives of the BSU, which led to multiple racially-motivated altercations involving DHS and its students.

Instances included the defacing of publicly displayed posters with racial slurs targeting specific minorities, as well as the off-campus publishing of a newspaper entitled, The E.G. Weekly.

“The E.G. Weekly … was distributed on school property and contained racial slurs along with offensive comments about some students at DHS,” according to task force findings.

Shah said the E.G. Weekly, published by 10 black students, was simply “kids being kids,” though he did stress he did not agree with the paper’s message. Local media did not see the newspaper as harmless and publicized the issue, creating distress within the school and the DeKalb community.

Distribution of the E.G. Weekly and the controversy surrounding the role of the BSU further fueled the fire between black and white students, parents and other community members.

In many instances, “senior black students picked on younger white students,” Hetland said.

Concurrently, black students felt they were being targeted and treated unfairly by their white teachers, specifically seeking-out members of the BSU and publishers of the E.G. Weekly, said Maurice McDavid a DHS senior and president of the BSU.

The BSU was first created under the premise that black students at DHS needed a venue for expressing themselves in a safe environment where they would not be judged or criticized, Shah said.

“The basis was that their voices weren’t being heard,” he said.

A changing of the guard

Initially, the BSU was forced to stray from the main goal of African-American education and take on critics whom “when they heard the name Black Student Union, heard separatist group,” Shah said.

This year, the group finally feels it is ready to get to work, Shah said. Much of that progress and respect as an organization has to do with the administrative changes which took place this summer.

“The BSU is just like any other extracurricular group,” Hall said. “They haven’t even been on my radar. When they need T-shirts or pamphlets made they come to me for approval, but that’s it.”

Students and faculty agree DHS is a calmer and more tension-free environment than it was in the past. Students walk about the halls freely, without the constant cloud of racism and discrimination hanging over them, allowing students to focus on academics instead.

“Now you have a principal that listens and doesn’t create a barrier,” said Antoinette Williams, a senior BSU member. “People are still scared of the BSU, but the BSU is focused on the future, not the past.”

This seems to be the general consensus at DHS. Students and administrators are trying to create a successful future for not only the school, but the DeKalb community as a whole.

“The positive attitude and perception in the school goes home with the students,” Rodriguez said. “A lot of the feedback has been positive.”

Athletics and race at DHS

Athletics at DHS had been constantly scrutinized for a lack of equal opportunity for black students, community members and all those seeking equality at DHS.

Under former leadership, teams were predominantly composed of white students. Although the football team was formed on a voluntary basis, which didn’t prohibit black athletes from joining, many had problems getting playing time.

“The athletic program has failed to bring minority students into the program. Minority students actually feel discouraged from participating,” the task force reported. “Once on a team, there is a sense of favoritism on the part of some coaches.”

Black girls faced further discrimination as they were discouraged from trying out for groups like the cheerleading squad. Posters announcing tryouts were vandalized with racial expletives discouraging them from trying out, according to the report.

This summer’s hiring of former DHS social studies teacher Dan Jones as athletic director has created a “busy, yet fun” environment for DHS athletics.

“We encourage as many of our students to participate in athletic activities as have interest,” Jones said.

Moving forward

The abundance of progress at DHS doesn’t mean problems have been resolved with the hiring of new administrators.

“Racial tension is decreasing, but it’s always hard to inflict change,” said Assistant Principal John Hahn. “The only reason I’m dealing with a backlash [from the previous administration] is because there didn’t seem to be many rules incorporated.”

Students appear to be gradually climbing up the learning curve and striving toward higher community and social standards.

Now, teachers and administrators can focus on the traditional dilemmas associated with high school, such as truancy and classroom overcrowding.