CENTINELA VALLEY PROTEST: A SEARCH FOR COMMON GROUND : All Sides Speak Out on Centinela Schools’ Racial Tension

Francine Patterson, Mother of 2 Students

Francine Patterson’s two sons, 15 and 17 years old, attend Hawthorne High School. She is a member of the Committee for Racial Free Education, a recently formed parents group that seeks to eliminate racism from the district and promote the voice of black parents in school issues.

Q: What do you think has been the cause of the racial tension and student unrest in the district?

A: Well, I think it goes back a long way. Number one, as far as having black leadership, a black principal, a black superintendent, I think that a lot of the people are not used to taking orders or being disciplined by a black man and it seems to pose some type of problem for them.

Q: How widespread do you think this is?

A: Well, I think it would be ludicrous to think that all of the white teachers are racist. I would not begin to support that type of idea. But the ones that are (racist) seem to be the ones that are most vocal at this point. . . . The squeaking wheel gets the oil and that is what is happening at this point.

Q: Do you attribute the mannequin and the anonymous notes and cartoons to this problem?

A: Well, I think it’s a scare tactic. It stems way back to the early ‘60s where (people thought), “If I frighten them enough maybe they will go away.” That doesn’t seem to be the case. We are not going to go away. . . . I’ve talked to a lot of parents and a lot of them say, “This is 1990 and racism just could not exist at this stage of life.” But in fact it does. They are shocked.

Q: Are you concerned for your children?

A: I’m concerned for all children at the high school. And that’s all children, not only black children. You have Hispanic children there, you have white children there, and those children can be indoctrinated to believe some of the things that these teachers are teaching them and I think that’s sad. . . . For Nancy Nuesseler (president of the district teachers union) to call the superintendent a Stepin Fetchit, that should not happen. That definitely should not happen. . . . I think she should not be in the classroom.

Q: How effectively have the school board, administrators and teachers responded to the situation?

A: I think the school board has been poor in their representation of themselves. I think that it would have been easier if they had talked with us as parents to try to allay our fears and let us know that they are working to try and stop what is happening. But they have refused to meet with us. . . . And you ask to speak at board meetings and they are rude . . . and they will not address the parents. . . . (My) kids are my future and they actually are (the board’s) future also, and if they look at it that way they would do something about what is happening rather than let it go on and on.

Q: How have the administrators dealt with this?

A: I went to (Supt. McKinley) Nash’s office and I asked him, because I was interested in knowing, what is going on. He told me that he had made recommendations (to quell the racial tensions) to the board and that the board has chosen not to act on those recommendations. That to me, again, is proving that if a black man is giving orders or even making recommendations, that they just don’t adhere to any of his recommendations. . . . And I don’t know the specifics of the recommendations, but I know that he told me he made the recommendations and nothing was done.

Q: How have the teachers responded?

A: The teachers have been rather quiet most of the time.

Q: Do you feel Ken Crowe is being forced to resign because of his race?

A: Well, I feel he’s being forced out either because of his race or because they don’t like him, they being the school board members or some teachers who have influence over the school board.

Q: What do you think should be done to address the problem?

A: I think very basic things should be done. Number one, we need to address the school board. They need to get rid of Miss (Ruth) Morales (school board president). She needs to go. She’s very dogmatic. She’s very condescending. She’s very arrogant and rude and I think, in my opinion, I think she needs to go. She is nonresponsive to parents, and my vote put her in and my vote will take her out.

Q: What about the rest of the board?

A: It’s hard to say because I know the only vocal member has been Miss (Pam) Sturgeon. . . . She appears to listen. She has stated more than once that she is not racist. She has stated that she cares about all kids. . . . Miss (Amparo) Font has not. I have not heard one word from Miss Font. I have not heard one word from Miss (Jacqueline) Carrera and Mr. (Michael) Escalante. I have not heard anything from any of those people. They allow Miss Morales to speak for them, and if they allow Miss Morales to speak for them, they should have the same fate as Miss Morales, which would be recall.

Q: What do you think should be done to address the problem?

A: I think the reinstatement of Mr. Crowe is imperative. . . . Overall education and a little bit of caring and respect (are needed). That is the bottom line. If you respect me, then I have no other recourse than to respect you.

Q: Some people have said school officials should put aside these allegations of racism and concentrate on education. Do you agree?

A: That would be very nice if you could just stop that, but part of education is to be able to stand up for yourself no matter what color, no matter what sex, whatever. You have to be able to stand up for yourself and you don’t allow things to happen to you simply because of your race and just sweep it under the carpet. It just does not happen that way. It will not happen in this case.