MLB home run king and current Miami Marlins hitting coach Barry Bonds took to his Twitter account earlier this week and took students at the private Brentwood School in Los Angeles to task after dropping the n-word in a recorded clip. His daughter Aisha’s white classmates were seen on video rapping along to A$AP Ferg’s “Dump Dump,” and not censoring themselves when when the word came up.
I am sad that i had to see this at my daughters school. #Racism #Fixit #Suspension https://t.co/NK1HpvQvEg
— Barry L Bonds (@BarryBonds) May 17, 2016
In the clip that was originally posted to YouTube by the group Brentwood Students Against Racism, the school’s lack of diversity is one of the leading points of contention, revealing that out of 120 10th grade students, only 3 are black, which is a 50% decrease from the year before. After the school’s administration refused to take action against the students in the video, the BSAR posted a petition on change.org in order to force the school’s brass to address the situation. Since then, the petition was updated to share that the school has promised to take action.
On Wednesday (May 18), the school released an official statement, addressing how they will handle the current situation.
“Brentwood School is dealing with the impact of a video showing several students at a non-school party, singing lyrics that are offensive and inconsistent with our core values. We are investigating this insensitive behavior, will address the situation directly, and will respond seriously.
In addition, we will do more. We will reflect on our response as a school administration and identify what Brentwood School can do better in the future to help all of our students understand the harm that this type of conduct causes to themselves, to others, and to the community.
This situation underscores the fact that nurturing a climate of mutual respect and inclusion at Brentwood is an on-going process. We will use this as an opportunity to further authentic dialogue about diversity and what it means to each individual member of our school. Ultimately, this will further strengthen us as a community.”
Respect: Complex
