Social Media Racism In PA Schools Sparks Calls For Legislative Action

PENNSYLVANIA — A series of racist social media posts from students across Pennsylvania has leaders calling for legislative action, as

Lawmakers say that school boards and university officials need to review their anti-hate and anti-bias trainings and policies, and Black history needs to be made more readily available in schools. They're also pushing a new bill that would mandate more diverse education in Pennsylvania schools.

“The rise in racist rhetoric among our young people is not new, but these disturbing posts are symptomatic of the current state of affairs across the commonwealth and the country," the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus shared in a statement Monday. "Our students are mirroring the political vitriol and uncivil discourse displayed by adults at school board meetings, in the workplace, on social media, and in their homes."

Specifically, the Caucus cited an incident at suburban Philadelphia's St. Hubert's Catholic School for Girls, where a video shared online showed a young white girl spray painting another girl black and yelling "know your roots, it's February!" Similar incidents occurred at a Philadelphia area middle school, while an Indiana University of Pennsylvania student used racist slurs on SnapChat in response to the performance of the Black national anthem before a basketball game.

"Racism and hate have no place in the classroom or elsewhere," the Caucus added. "Teaching children that lesson, and fostering it across all areas of education, business, and government is something we all need to get behind to move our commonwealth forward in a positive and productive way where everyone knows they belong.”

That bill, House Bill 1931, has alrady been introduced. It would change the state's curriculum to mandate Black and Latino history specifically be included.

"Our educational system does not currently paint an accurate or full portrayal of our rich history, where all of our students can see themselves," State Rep. Sara Innamorato (D-Allegheny) wrote.

Schools are taking varying steps to address the recent instances of social media racism. At St. Hubert's, all of the girls identified in the video were expelled from school. They also moved to fully virtual instruction for a week as the investigation was ongoing. IUP, meanwhile, said they were reviewing their bias training in response to their own incident.

"We are following the protocols we have in place to address incidents of bias and hate while respecting the Constitutional guarantee of free speech," IUP President Mike Driscoll said in a video address to the student body.

It's not clear, however, what institutional changes are voluntarily underway at either school.