By Dianne Anderson

Community outrage is now fueling plans for how to deal with the recent racist assault on a petite Black girl at a Colton middle school by her large male classmate, who slammed her head into the desk, and knocked her out to the floor.

Last week, New Life Christian Church of Fontana held its update meeting with several concerns that no one helped the girl, or tried to stop the severe harassment by what they said was a known bully at her middle school.

The teacher stood by in the class, and failed to intervene.

Speakers took to the podium emphasizing what they said is the untold story by some media sources. They addressed how the male instigated the class, stole her pencil, and engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior, spraying water at the Black girl and her female friend.

Despite complaints against the 14-year old male, they said the incident and class harassment dragged on for 45 minutes.

After the girl was assaulted and collapsed to the floor, she and her friend went to the nurse’s office and tried to call 911 about her injuries, but they said the school nurse disregarded concerns, and “snatched” the cell phone away. Her mother was not contacted until later.

The speaker talked about how the assault against the small-sized 14-year-old girl, has been downplayed as “horseplay.”

“Horseplay doesn’t say that we were putting water out in a sexual manner – imitating that to the two young girls in this classroom,” one speaker said, adding that the teacher took away the water, and the male retrieved it from the trash.

When the girl raised her hand for her assignment, she was called racial slurs. At last glance at student education data, out of 1,460 students at the school, 67 are Black.

“No kid that goes to class should have to fight for themselves because the adult in the room slept at the wheel. We need to sit there and ask why did she have to resort to having to defend herself in a classroom?” he said.

A viral Instagram video captured by another classmate shows the male laughing after the attack.

The San Bernardino County District Attorney stated that the Office declined to file charges against either of the students in the March 10 incident at Jehue Middle School in Colton.

On his Instagram, D.A. Jason Anderson wrote confidentiality laws prohibit their office from discussing details, but he noted there was an incomplete portion of the incident captured on video that was released to the public. After reviewing the entire investigation and facts, he said the Office declined to file any charges against anyone involved in the incident.

But, he expressed confidence the school district will continue to take proper steps to assist the students, and ensure measures are in place to avoid similar circumstances in the future.

“Although not a factor in our filing decisions, no party involved in the incident or their families desired prosecution. Additionally, filing decisions will never be swayed by protest, press conferences and media statements that rely upon disinformation, hyperbole and agendas,” he said. “This was an anomaly.”

Long-time parent advocate, Devona Robertson, takes issue with the idea that what happened was an anomaly.

“Let’s be real — it’s not. This is a pattern,” she said. “Black students are consistently punished while their safety is ignored,” she said, stressing that the criminalization of Black children is not an exception, but rather the rule.

“It’s a reflection of how the school-to-prison pipeline operates. Incidents like this, if left unchecked, allow the pipeline to persist. Without real change, it will keep happening,” said Robertson, parent organizer with Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement (COPE) in the Inland Empire.

While she agrees the District Attorney’s Office made the right call in not filing charges, even so, she said the situation as a whole underscores a much larger issue of systemic mistreatment of Black children in the education system.

“Time and time again, Black students are criminalized for behaviors others are excused for, while the injustices they face go ignored,” she said.

She wants to see change from the school district to ensure racial justice and accountability. As a Black-rooted, faith-based organization, she said COPE remains committed to dismantling the pushout of Black girls and the criminalization of Black and Brown students. She said the school-to-prison pipeline is a harsh reality across America, and the Inland Empire.

“Black students are too often seen through a lens of deficit rather than potential,” she said. “This is a horrible example of that and it isn’t just about one case, it’s about a system that repeatedly fails us.”

Syeda Jafri, Rialto Unified School District spokesperson, said because both students are minors, the district is very limited on what they can say, and not at liberty to publicly discuss pending investigations or actions.

“Rialto Unified School District appreciates the timely and sound decision made by San Bernardino District Attorney Jason Anderson. The District will continue to promote a school climate building on a safe and nurturing environment where all our students have opportunities to thrive,” she said.

When it comes to bullying, race matters, but also gender.

One initiative of The Leadership Conference Education Fund, “Cause for Concern 2024: The State of Hate,” tracked an alarming 90% rise in reported hate crimes during U.S. election cycles since 2014. The report says that hate crimes have nearly doubled since 2015.

Several studies also show an increase in hate crime increase against Blacks, who are the most frequent target, but anti-women and girl incidents soared since 2016. It is often linked to the change of attitudes toward females coinciding with the elections, sometimes called the “Trump Effect.”

Last December, PBS covered the sharp rise of misogynistic rhetoric and attacks after the 2024 election, with researchers tracking a 4600% increase in misogynistic phrases on social media, especially among young men.

Cynthia Miller Idriss, a professor at American University and director of the school’s Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab, is concerned with the rate at which misogyny is happening offline in schools, at universities, and even in elementary schools.

She also makes the connection between those who commit extreme violence and school violence, also happen to have a history of harassment stalking, rape threats and sexual assaults.

“We know that the biggest predictor of support for political violence right now, or among the top three predictors depending on the survey, is misogyny or hostile sexism. So beliefs in a hierarchy of superiority, beliefs in the inferiority of women, drive support for political violence,” she said.

To watch the Community update, see https://www.youtube.com/live/oz29BXoPAHA?si=eUZSUxWeoF7ibS44

To watch the PBS interview, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgxj_wfH-0w