Crime

Racial Harassment at Alameda’s Encinal High School

Published

11 years ago

December 20, 2013

Encinal High School in Alameda is known for its academic rigor, athletic achievements, school pride and diversity. But the recent failure of the school administration to respond to an incident of racial harassment on campus is raising concerns about a lack of cultural sensitivity at the school.

On Dec. 6, a student allegedly left a piece of paper depicting a Ku Klux Klan mask on a Black student’s desk, causing a dispute in the class. According to sources, the teacher sent both students to the office without addressing the issue.

According to a statement released by the district, “School administrators began an investigation and took immediate corrective action,” which included “talking extensively to the students involved, their parents, and staff.”

However, sources who know the student and her family are saying the victim’s parents were not informed about what happened did not learn about the incident until the student returned home.

According to staff members at the school, the incident was swept under the rug and ignored until the victim’s parents filed a police report.

It was not until Dec. 16– more than a week after the incident occurred and just a week before the school is scheduled to close for the holiday break – that the student was finally suspended.

The student who left the illustration of the KKK mask has a history of similar behavior at the school, according to a staff member. Earlier in the school year, he tied a small rope in shape of a noose and gave it to the same student. He was not reprimanded nor was he disciplined by the school, the staff member said.

Barbara Adams, Assistant Superintendent of the Alameda Unified School District, says the district is taking the student’s behavior very seriously. “ It violates school and district policies against discrimination and as such always results in discipline for the students who engage in it,” she said.

Adams insists the school district is handling the case, and school administrators and staff are “planning ways to engage the entire school community in intensive instruction and dialogue on the impact of this situation.”

“This type of behavior is absolutely unacceptable in our schools and our community,” Adams said.

However, another source at the school says that many incidents have taken place at Encinal in recent years that show a lack of sensitivity towards African American students – even from teachers.

One teacher reportedly created a PowerPoint presentation to discuss inappropriate school dress attire. The presentation focused “sagging pants,” commonly associated with Black male students but did not mention “crop tops and short-shorts,” more commonly worn by white female students, according to a staff member.

The culture and the fabric make up of the school must be addressed and changed, said the source.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

E.C. Reems Academy Says Support Music Instead of Guns

Don't Miss

City Forbids Hazardous Cargo in West Oakland

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 2 – 8, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 2 – 8, 2025

Published

4 days ago

April 4, 2025

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of March 28 – April 1, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 28 – April 1, 2025

Published

2 weeks ago

March 28, 2025

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Group Takes First Steps to Recall District Attorney Diana Becton

The group, called “Recall Diana Becton,” says they have lost faith in her prosecution decisions and her lack of transparency. On their social media post, they say: “We the victims of crime, their families, local business owners and employees, as well as residents of Contra Costa County, have reached our limit and are initiating the recall of District Attorney Diana Becton,” the notice states. “We are increasingly concerned about the persistent cycle of unaddressed criminal activity. We are frustrated by her continuous empty promises to victims and their families that justice will prevail while she permits criminals to roam free.” Becton, 73, is a former judge who was appointed district attorney in 2017 by the Board of Supervisors and then won election in 2018 and again in 2022.

Published

2 weeks ago

March 24, 2025

Oakland Post

Diana Becton has served at the Contra Costa County District Attorney since 2017. Richmond Standard photo.

By Post Staff

After gathering more than 100 verified signatures, a group led by crime victims delivered a ‘notice of intent’ to the offices of Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton seeking her recall.

The group, called “Recall Diana Becton,” says they have lost faith in her prosecution decisions and her lack of transparency.

On their social media post, they say:

“We the victims of crime, their families, local business owners and employees, as well as residents of Contra Costa County, have reached our limit and are initiating the recall of District Attorney Diana Becton,” the notice states.

“We are increasingly concerned about the persistent cycle of unaddressed criminal activity. We are frustrated by her continuous empty promises to victims and their families that justice will prevail while she permits criminals to roam free.”

Becton, 73, is a former judge who was appointed district attorney in 2017 by the Board of Supervisors and then won election in 2018 and again in 2022.

Becton has seven days to respond. According to the East Bay Times, her office spokesperson said her “answer will be her public comment.”

After Becton responds, according to the Contra Costa County Elections Office, Recall Diana Becton must then finalize the petition language and gather signatures of a minimum of 10% of registered voters (72,000) in 160 days before it can go on the ballot for election.

She is the third Bay Area district attorney whose constituents wanted them removed from office. San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin was removed from office in 2021 and last year, Pamela Price lost her position in a recall election.

Of the top 10 proponents of Becton’s recall, three are the families of Alexis Gabe, Thomas Arellano, and Damond Lazenby Jr.

In each of those cases, the families say Becton failed to pursue prosecution, allowed a plea deal instead of a trial in a slaying and questioned the coroner’s report in a fatal car crash.

Some political science experts suggest that, in the Bay Area there may be a bit of copycat syndrome going on.

In many states, recalls are not permitted at all, but in California, not only are they permitted but the ability to put one into motion is easy.

“Only 10% of registered voters in a district are needed just to start the process of getting the effort onto the ballot,” Garrick Percival, a political science professor told the East Bay Times. “It makes it easy to make the attempt.”

But according to their website, the Recall Diana Becton group express their loss of faith in the prosecutor.

“Her lack of transparency regarding crime in this county, and her attempts to keep her offenders out of jail have left us disheartened,” the recall group wrote.

Petitioners say they are acting not just for themselves but other crime victims “who feel ignored, exasperated and hopeless in their pursuit of justice for themselves or their loved ones.”

KRON TV, The East Bay Times, and Wikipedia are the sources for this report.