Seaholm Students 'Stand Up' Against Racism

students begged their fellow Maples to do one thing as the school begins to heal after several racist incidents: stand up.

And they did. It was a moving morning as the students and teachers from Seaholm gathered in an assembly Monday morning to take a stand against incidents of racism that have rocked the school in recent weeks.

On April 20, students discovered , specifically targeting five African-American students at the school. The following day an was found in the mailbox of an African-American teacher.

After calling a special meeting for parents April 26, Seaholm Principal Terry Piper then confirmed that were discovered inside the lockers of two African-American students April 26 and April 27.

“A lot of emotions run through you at a time like this,” said Piper, who is retiring at the end of the school year after 13 years as principal at Seaholm. “It just makes me angry that someone could do that … but then, it also breaks my heart.”

The school had been planning an all-student assembly after the parent meeting, but Community Relations Director Marcia Wilkinson said a group of students approached school officials, asking to host the assembly themselves.

Students control assembly, ask classmates to speak out

Intent on tackling what they say is a very real problem,  members of the Birmingham Voice, a student group devoted to dissolving racial tensions, came forward and were the first to volunteer to help at the April 26 meeting.

Juniors Timmy Christensen, Nick Resnik, Sam Corey and Eboni Cloemens said they saw the recent incidents as an opportunity to talk to fellow students about respect and inclusion. The four started the Birmingham Voice at the beginning of the 2011-11 school year, but noted they were stumped at how to lead a movement among their peers.

“I was talking with Jake, Nick Resnick and Sam,” Christensen said in a December article in Seaholm’s student newspaper, The Seaholm Highlander. “Just talking, having a conversation. We started talking about the racial tensions in Birmingham (and how they are) becoming much more prevalent due to the increased amounts of black kids in Birmingham.”

At the assembly, all four found their voice. Organized by Flex teacher Robin Moten, the group recruited their classmates to “stand up” and discuss the importance of inclusion.

“If you’re nice to me, I’ll be nice to you. I don’t care what color you are. I will stand up,” sophomore Mallory Wilberding said, standing in the center of Seaholm’s gym with a half-dozen of her fellow Maples. During the assembly, students sung John Lennon's "Imagine" and watched a performance of Sugarland's "Stand Up," moving everyone to their feet.

As Corey pointed out at the beginning of the assembly, urging their classmates to “stand up” to bigotry and racism was the group’s most important message.

“It’s no longer OK to ignorantly disrespect someone because of their race. And it’s especially not OK to watch this happen,” Corey said.

Resnik said he believes that those who committed the racist acts were “a few bad apples” and probably did it for attention. “But I would have you know that if this assembly was about them, we wouldn’t have you all here today.” Instead, he said the assembly was for the majority of Seaholm students who “stand still,” Resnik said. “It isn’t cool to stand by as people in our school, your fellow Maples, whether you like it or not, are being attacked for the color of their skin.

“Today we’re here to ask you to stand up. Stand up for what is right. Stand up for your fellow Seaholm students. It will make everyone a better person.”

According to Piper, school officials are still working to discover who was behind the incidents, turning over the notes to the and comparing handwriting.

"At this moment, we have not been successful in identifyng the student or students responsible, but we will not stop trying," he said.

The school plans another public meeting on the subject at 7 p.m. May 11 in the Seaholm Media Center.

The school's diversity club is also planning a project next week, Piper said, where it will solicit pledges from students in exchange for buttons that state students promise not to use offensive language and speak up when they hear it. The diversity club is also planning a candlelight vigil next week, Piper said, "to unify the school and make a stand against any type of racism or hate."