North County Students Bring Attention to Racial Discrimination Through Social Media

A social media account is bringing attention to racial discrimination that students say they are experiencing in a North County school district.

The Instagram account "Black in PUSD" is getting a lot of attention. It was created by two Poway students who say they really want to show the community the discrimination a lot of students of color are experiencing.

The account's creators asked to remain anonymous and NBC 7 is honoring their request.

“We were originally inspired to start this account after seeing the nationwide protest during the Black Lives Matter Movement and thought it was a good idea to showcase the black experience in our community,” said one of the @BlackinPUSD creators.

Each of the more than 150 posts is an experience from a current or former Poway student. Both of the account's creators say they also have personal stories about experiencing racial discrimination at school.

“We had a debate on the N-word. I vividly remember a student saying it’s just another word everyone should say it and I found that highly offensive especially because I was the only black student in that class,” said one of the @BlackinPUSD creators.

Poway Unified School Board President Michelle O'Connor-Ratcliff says she heard about students experiencing racial discrimination while at a local rally.

“Just hearing about all of these issues is really disheartening,” O’Connor-Ratcliff said.

While the school board was working on a resolution committing to a racially diverse curriculum, hiring a racially diverse staff, and additional anti-bias training for students and staff, they found out about the Instagram account.

The district reached out to the account creators and now a conversation has started about how schools can be more inclusive, make changes to the curriculum, and keep moving forward to stop discrimination from happening.

“This is going to be a collaboration between students, teachers, administrators, parents and the community as a whole,” said one of the @BlackinPUSD creators.

The board will vote on the resolution on June 25.