This morning I ran across an article that really gave me pause. Apparently, a Vice Principal (Joe DiFilippo) at a middle school in the Fresno Unified School District, here in CA, felt it was appropriate to tell some of the students that he doesn’t like black kids. Really?! Watch the video for yourself.
Was this man joking with the students? I honestly don’t know. If it was a joke, it was in very poor taste. If it wasn’t a joke-I’m glad it was caught on tape. I don’t think anyone would have taken the word of the students over the Vice Principal, if there was no physical evidence of what was said.
Some black students revealed they had felt targeted by DiFilippo when it came to being disciplined. A Government report released last year found racism is alive and well in U.S. schools, with Black students receiving harsher disciplinary treatment than their White peers.
How I Feel
If an administrator at my child’s school had said what Mr. DiFilippo said; I’d be furious. Even if it was a joke, as a school administrator- there are boundaries you do not cross. At the very least, this man showed extremely poor judgement. Race really isn’t an appropriate topic to be joking about with middle schoolers.
Kudos to the student who recorded this.
What do you think?
Photo credit: cheriejoyful via Visual Hunt / CC BY-NC-ND
