Clergy Leaders, Community Gather to Support Jehue Student and Demand Change

An outpouring of support for the 14-year-old girl involved in a classroom fight at Jehue Middle School gathered last Wednesday, March 26, as clergy leaders and roughly 75 community members congregated at the 16th Street Seventh Day Adventist Church in San Bernardino. Residents and activists demanded the Rialto Unified School District (RUSD) commit to transformative reforms to ensure the safety, dignity and educational success for all youth—especially Black children.

According to numerous residents, the RUSD is failing its students. This sentiment has gained traction after violence between two 14-year-olds erupted in class last month, with footage of the incident going viral. To many, the primary issue is poor leadership. To others, the incident evinces anti-Blackness. 

“There is pervasive anti-Black racism in schools that Black students are experiencing, and it’s a problem, and we need to really call for Black and brown solidarity,” Lanae Norwood, the principal of L. Norwood and Associates, said in an interview.

During the community gathering, the family’s attorney Na’Shaun L. Neal recounted the details of the March 10 classroom fight, specifying the leadup to the incident, highlighting the unnamed substitute teacher’s inaction and the racially charged atmosphere. 

“The teacher fell asleep at the wheel,” Neal said. “This shy, intelligent, young, Black girl walked to a class and it was chaos.”

Neal explained that the teacher failed to notice that an unenrolled student was in the classroom. This student, according to Neal, bullied the young girl, who the family has requested remain unnamed. For privacy reasons, the 14-year-old boy involved in the incident also remains unnamed. 

Neal continued, citing that the young boy sprayed the young girl with a water bottle—even after the bottle was taken and discarded by the substitute teacher. The young boy retrieved the bottle from the trash and sprayed the young girl “in a sexual manner.” 

Afterward, the young girl was heckled as her pencil was taken from her and passed around. 

“She was called a monkey, a Black bitch in the classroom,” Neal said. 

The viral video shows the girl and boy shoving each other until she swatted at his head with a laptop. He then slammed her head into a nearby schooldesk, rendering her unconscious. 

Police initially cited both students. The girl faced a felony assault charge, while the boy faced a misdemeanor battery charge. However, District Attorney Jason Anderson declined to file the charges facing both students. 

“Although not a factor in our filing decisions, no one involved in the incident or their families desired prosecution,” Anderson said in a statement. “My expectation is that both children will not be defined by this and will move on from the conduct.”

While Anderson’s decision was praised by the clergy and those present at the church gathering, the central issue is justice for the young girl. 

“So, let’s be clear on it, the district attorney not filing charges is not justice,” Norwood said to the audience. “Justice is her family being made whole.”

More specifically, the matter centers on restorative justice.

“Restorative justice is giving space to people who have caused harm, to demonstrate remorse for the people that they have harmed, understand their experiences and then make a commitment to repairing that harm,” Norwood said in an interview. She added that the fight at Jehue Middle School was a missed opportunity for the administrators and the Colton Police department. 

For many, this incident represents a flashpoint, a vindication of a systemic problem and the need for change. 

“The Rialto Unified School District is in a process of transformation, from personnel to security to teaching, we are taking a deep dive,” said Dr. Stephanie E. Lewis, president of the RUSD Board. “We are making a difference with your help, with your pressure.”

However, there are differences of opinion regarding the primacy of racial tensions or insufficient supervision and preparation at RUSD schools. 

Steven Figuerora, an education advocate, explained that he believes the Jehue affair is evidence of “district incompetence” more than racial divide. Although, he said he would amend his position if the students confirmed that racism was prevalent on campuses. 

“So, if he made those comments, they are racial—it’s unacceptable,” Figuerora said in an interview, adding that only the kids know what really happens on campus. “And if the kids feel, if they contend, there’s racial issues on that campus, then there are.”

When asked about potential solutions, Figuerora suggested the creation of a human relations commission. 

“I would recommend the establishment of a human relations commission for the purposes of analyzing not just race relations . . . but the overall culture . . . to review and issue a finding on how to improve,” Figuerora said. “It would involve parents, nonprofits and individuals knowledgeable in investigations.”

While such a commision may improve RUSD campuses, Pastor Sam Casey of Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement echoed Figuerora’s complaint about poor preparation for teachers; however, he emphasized race continues to be a factor. 

Following the community gathering, IECN asked Casey about the Jehue incident and the systemic problems facing the district. 

“This was a complete failure and breakdown in systems that they already have in play,” Casey said. “Secondly, this is just systemic—period—not only for Black students, but all students of color.”

Casey then recounted his experience visiting schools after he started the African American Parent Advisory Council. 

“When I would do what they would call ‘mystery customer shopping,’ to go visit school sites, to see how you would be received—I was literally ignored by office staff, literally ignored and treated horribly by principals,” Casey said. “So, if I’m feeling this, and I’m a district employee and they don’t know it, imagine how parents who don’t know how to have a voice and students who don’t feel confident enough that anyone would even listen to them.”

Casey added that the community aims to use the violent breakout at Jehue to instigate change by centering “the people who are closest to the problem as part of the solution to the conditions that they find themselves in.” 

The young girl’s unnamed mother echoed Casey’s sentiment as she expressed her gratitude to the congregation. 

“My daughter’s story is not the only one, and that is heartbreaking truth,” she said. “What happened to her should never happen to anyone, and we are committed to turning our pain into purpose and fighting for policy change.”