Discrimination Alleged at School in South Gate

Three teachers and the family of an 11-year-old student filed suit Wednesday alleging that the Los Angeles Unified School District has failed to curb pervasive discrimination against African Americans at predominantly Latino South Gate Middle School.

The Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges that Michael Collins--one of only 16 black students at the district’s largest middle school, where 98% of the students are Latino--has been the target of repeated racial slurs and violent physical attacks.

Attorney B. Kwaku Duren charged that school administrators, rather than addressing the racism, labeled Collins “a mental case” and transferred him to a school for the emotionally disturbed.

“This young man is not severely emotionally disturbed,” Duren said. “He has been severely emotionally injured.”

The three other plaintiffs--teachers Emily F. Gibson, Frances M. Copeland and Levell Smith--contend that they have been the targets of racial slurs by students, parents and other teachers and that they have been passed over for desirable assignments in favor of lesser qualified applicants who are not black.

They said they were then penalized after speaking out.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from the district as well as an injunction requiring the district to correct the alleged problems.

District officials said they have investigated the complaints but found no evidence of racism.

“I really don’t see any discrimination against African American students,” said Angie Stockwell, assistant superintendent for inter-group relations. “African American students . . . had access to school activities and played key roles. And the same was found on the part of [African American] teachers.”

But Stockwell acknowledged it was evident that some relationships had broken down on the campus. She said she had taken steps to repair them, before the lawsuit was filed, by retaining two professional counselors from the Anti-Defamation League to intervene.