What happened at last Friday’s, 9/13/2024, FWISD football game between Arlington Heights High School and Northside High School - and everything that followed - shows us all how far we’ve come and how far we still have.

While attending the Arlington Heights sideline during Friday’s football game, Northside cheerleaders were called racial slurs and derogatory comments were made about them and their community from members in the Arlington Heights stands. Out of safety, the Northside cheerleaders removed themselves from the environment and returned to the Northside sidelines. There were no adults in the stands or employed by FWISD that intervened to protect the Northside students at the time of the incident.

The Northside cheerleaders showed incredible bravery in speaking up about how they were treated, and the response from the student leaders at Arlington Heights High School gives us hope for the future. It proves that a community's diversity is a strength, especially among the younger generation.

Arlington Heights Student Leadership Statement Regarding events of September 13, 2024

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident in FWISD or in our Fort Worth and Tarrant County communities. In several ways, too many adults in our communities have shown their willingness to engage and lead with racist intent.

Look no further than a FWISD board meeting, a City Council Meeting, or our County Commissioner’s Court to see evidence of the racism our leaders refuse to address. Tarrant County is infected and it impacts FWISD. Our leaders at every level are failing us and our students.

We have allowed some very loud voices to control powerful spaces with their narrative that immigrants are the enemy and we cannot talk about diversity and the need for equity. While these voices may not use racial slurs in public comment, through policy initiatives their intent is clear. We see it in book bans and resource allocation. This has saturated our everyday lives. When we are not allowed to call out racism in public comment or speak about the need for diversity, equity and inclusion, we are hesitant to do it in real life. We turn a blind eye to the racism right in front of our faces everyday. It is not addressed in the classroom or the football field.

FWISD has a racial equity policy that has been ignored. They have a Racial Equity Committee that has been suppressed because leaders have chosen not to stand up for their own policies. If the Board can’t stand up for students, how can we expect administrators to stand up to a racist incident at a football game?

We need FWISD to adopt a policy that rejects racism for the respect and safety of our diverse community and provides backup and support to administrators and staff, clearly and concisely. As a community, we ask that Fort Worth leaders take a stand with and for students. We cannot let racism go unanswered.

Sign this letter to demand the following:

• Accountability for the students, and if any adults, that engaged in yelling racist and derogatory language at the Northside cheerleaders

• Accountability for FWISD employees that did not intervene to protect the Northside students

• A reinstatement of the Racial Equity Committee

• A public commitment and plan from the Superintendent and FWISD School Board to utilize the racial equity policy to address systemic racism in FWISD

• Identify additional policy needs to address racist incidents that students experience within FWISD classrooms, campuses, and extracurricular activities.

In Partnership with: