What Are Our Organizers Up To?

Daniel Low is a senior in Torrance Unified School District.

Amanda Burke is a junior in Long Beach Unified School District. 

Marissa Pe is a sophomore in El Monte Union High School District.

Why did you get involved in DON?

Daniel: Before 2020, I was not very political or passionate about social justice, but back in April after George Floyd’s murder, I started to hear more about social justice campaigns and community organizations like Black Lives Matter and Torrance for Justice. I dedicated myself to causes I wanted to support. I heard about Diversify Our Narrative and was interested in their work, as I am passionate about racial and social justice issues. I wanted to make change, as I saw issues in my school with representation and mild racism, and felt that DON was the best way to make this change. 

What have you accomplished in your school district with DON?

Amanda: We have talked to and gained the support of the assistant superintendent of my school district, and the school board is creating three student-led equity teams for the school. DON has also presented ideas for a book club for inclusive books by BIPOC authors and has pushed to add them to the curriculum. There is also going to be student town hall meetings that people from my DON chapter will speak at, and we are hoping to pass a more diverse curriculum that we can all agree on. 

Has your school implemented any general changes since the BLM movement?

Marissa: Yes, our school has definitely made some changes. Ethnic studies is now a semester-long class at my school and is a graduation requirement for the class of 2024. We are also planning to discuss the DON book list with administrators.

Have you ever experienced or witnessed racism in your school?

Daniel: I haven’t witnessed anything major, as I go to the most diverse school in my school district. However, I have seen and experienced a few microaggressions. Since I go to such a diverse school, the students have been exposed to different cultures, races, and ethnicities since elementary school, so most of us know what is right and wrong, in terms of racial insensitivity.

Amanda: I have witnessed a lot of racism in my school. I’ve watched the enforcement of racist dress code policies, as someone even made a girl take off their hijab. Many times, only students of color get dress-coded, even when white people wear the exact same thing.

Marissa: While I haven’t experienced or witnessed racism in a classroom setting, I have witnessed racism at school, especially back in middle school. There was a lot of racism towards minorities like Asian and Black folks. There was only one Black student, but many people threw around the n-word. And in high school, there have been a lot of jokes made about COVID-19.

How do you think your school could do better in terms of becoming more anti-racist and inclusive?

Daniel: My school could start becoming more anti-racist and inclusive by implementing books by BIPOC authors in every class, not just English class. Also, the administration could implement not just books, but also highlight contributions by POC in other classes, such as theatre, art, and even mathematics. The school should also address systemic racism, especially in the school disciplinary system.

Amanda: The school district has very diverse students, so more POC representation is needed in the teaching staff. Also, my school must change the dress code! Originally, the dress code punishments in our district were fair. However, the high school hired a new principal last year, who implemented obscene rules. For the 3rd offence of the dress code in one school year, the student can be expelled from school! After some pressure from us students, they relented and didn't enforce the policies as strictly as before. Unfortunately, though, many of the punishments still fall unproportionately on BIPOC students.

Marissa: I believe that my school needs to include more BIPOC representation into our general curriculum, to learn about people outside of our own cultures and ethnicities and what they’ve accomplished. It would be beneficial for everyone to learn about BIPOC people outside of our world history class.