‘Nobody stood up.’ Fort Worth North Side students demand action after hearing racial slurs
No one in a position of authority stepped in when students shouted racist epithets at an opposing team’s cheerleaders at a Fort Worth high school football game earlier this month, according to students involved.
Cheerleaders from North Side High School said students from Arlington Heights High School yelled racist slurs at them during a football game on Sept. 13 at Farrington Field, they said at a press conference early Monday morning, attended by around a dozen students and a few parents.
Stephanie Urias, a family member of one of the North Side cheerleaders, said she was saddened that no adults stepped in to put a stop to the insults.
“To think that they were in a safe spot, in a safe place, and nobody was there for them,” she said. “Nobody stood up, or no one said anything.”
The press conference was originally scheduled to be held outside of Farrington Field, but the morning downpour forced them to move to a covered pavilion at Marine Park, about a mile and a half from North Side High School.
The insults were said when the North Side cheer team carried out their tradition of giving the opposing cheer team a gift during the game’s third quarter. When they got to the opposite sideline, people in the Arlington Heights student section yelled racial slurs and sexist insults at them.
“Nobody should feel entitled enough to make fun of us like that just because of our skin color or where we came from,” said Genesis, a North Side junior and cheerleader who preferred not to give her last name. Most of us were born here, and it really shouldn’t make a difference where we come from.”
Nearly 94% of North Side students identify as Hispanic, according to state data. Just over 52% of Arlington Heights students identify as Hispanic. White students make up 20.4% of the student body, and 23.4% are African American.
Fans from both schools had chosen themes for the game. The Arlington Heights theme was “U.S.A.,” in honor of the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. North Side’s theme was “Viva Northside,” in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, which is celebrated on Sept. 16.
Representatives from Arlington Heights and North Side high schools did not immediately return phone calls requesting comment.
Writing on behalf of the school’s student leadership, Arlington Heights student Emma Eliz Barberena said in a statement dated Sept. 15 and posted to Instagram that the behavior described by the North Side cheerleaders does not represent her school.
The theme was chosen months in advance, she said, adding that the “American flag is just as much mine as it is my white peers’.”
While she did not believe the flag was meant to be used to “isolate Hispanics in any way,” her statement was not meant to justify her classmates’ alleged behavior.
“Those who took part in such an ignorant action must be punished — not the entire student body,” she said. “Heights does not represent that.”
Other students spoke at Monday’s press conference, getting choked up as they did so.
Nina Morales, a senior at Young Women’s Leadership Academy and vice president of the academy’s League of United Latin American Citizens’ Youth Council, called the actions “disgusting” and “nasty.”
“It is not OK for any student of any race to be … yelled racial slurs,” she said. “No student should be encountering that in high school.”
North Side parent and alumna Claudia, who preferred not to give her last name, called on the community and the Fort Worth school board to “stand up for these young women who were subjected to this racial discrimination.”
A Fort Worth school district spokesperson said the district is taking the allegations seriously and that the incident is under investigation, and therefore it could give no detailed information about it.
“We want to assure our community that FWISD remains committed to promoting equity and inclusion throughout our district,” the spokesperson said in an email, adding that the district’s Racial Equity Committee “continues to be an integral part of … reinforcing our dedication to addressing systemic issues and fostering an inclusive environment.”
That committee, however, has not been effective under the leadership of Superintendent Angélica Ramsey, said community organizer Alex Montalvo.
During her tenure, “we have seen that the committee is no longer meeting regularly,” he said. “It supposedly still exists, but not in any real way, and the racial equity policy is no longer prioritized as it once was.”
The district said it “remains committed to transparency and accountability,” and will provide updates on the situation as soon as it is able.
More than 1,800 letters have been sent to the school board demanding they take action on this issue, Montalvo said. He called on community members to attend the Fort Worth school board meeting on Tuesday to voice their concerns.
The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Fort Worth ISD Administration Building, 7060 Camp Bowie Blvd in Fort Worth.
“Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident in Fort Worth ISD or in our Fort Worth and Tarrant County communities,” he said. “In several ways, too many adults in our communities have shown their willingness to suppress or engage and lead into activities that have racist intent, and we must stop this.”
This story was originally published September 23, 2024 at 1:01 PM.
