Editor's note: This article has been updated from a previous version to include a statement from Fairview District 72. It has also been revised from a previous edition to correct an error, in which the author incorrectly stated that the plaintiffs had not requested injunctive relief.
A Skokie elementary school district hasn’t done enough to combat alleged racism among students, and implement so-called anti-racist programs and policies, a new lawsuit claims.
On Jan. 3, a group of parents of Black and Latino students in Fairview Elementary School District 72 filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court against District 72’s school board and its superintendent, over what they perceive to be racism at work at Fairview Elementary School in Skokie.
According to the complaint, the parents, identified as Roxann Salgado, Roy Conley Jr., Angela Sangha-Gadsden and Terence Gadsden, asserted they have approached District 72 leadership with numerous complaints of alleged racist behavior by white students at Fairview.
They claim this includes instances in which:
a white student told a Black student her skin was “the color of poop;”
A white student told fellow students that when Donald Trump becomes president of the United States, that all Black people would be removed from the country;
White students have referred “to children of color using racial slurs, including the use of the ‘n-word;’”
And a white student “made derogatory comments about Martin Luther King Jr to a group of Black students,” among other alleged instances.
The plaintiffs assert they have repeatedly asked District 72 to address these occurrences with “anti-racism” programs and training for staff and students, but have been rebuffed.
The plaintiffs assert school district personnel have created a “hostile learning environment for students of color,” and “prioritize the comfort of white children over all children of color in the District.”
The complaint notes that District 72 is a “majority-minority district.” A little less than half of the student body is white, while 32% of the students are Asian, 13% are Latino and about 2% are Black.
The plaintiffs assert District 72’s alleged indifference to their complaints and demands for anti-racism training is part of a larger pattern of alleged racist behavior toward Black families, in particular. The complaint asserts the district’s hiring practices “deliberately prioritize white (job) candidates over candidates of color to teach children.”
Further, the complaint asserts the school board allegedly prioritizes white parents over Black and Latino parents, when addressing concerns.
“Defendants have provided more speaking time to white supremacists at Board meetings than to people of color, who are consistently and repeatedly required to speak after white people,” the lawsuit claims.
Further, the complaint asserts the district has “willfully refused” to teach Black History Month curriculum, or curriculum for Asian or “Hispanic/Latinx” history months.
“Defendants have fostered an environment which refuses to acknowledge racism even exists, even as students of color are subjected to increasing levels of racist harassment from white students,” the complaint asserts.
In response to the lawsuit, District 72 Superintendent Cindy Whittaker said in an email statement:
"Our District takes allegations of this nature very seriously.
While we cannot offer details on pending litigation, we remain steadfast in our commitment to a safe physical and emotional school environment that advances learning and promotes respect for all."
The plaintiffs are seeking to expand their action to include a class of additional plaintiffs, including all nonwhite parents and students in the district from January 2019 to January 2022.
The plaintiffs are demanding District 72 be ordered to pay them unspecified damages for alleged violations of the law, including federal Civil Rights Law; alleged unconstitutional taking of students’ right to education; alleged violation of students’ and parents’ equal protection rights; and violation of the students’ rights to an education under the Illinois constitution.
The lawsuit also asks the court to issue an injunction barring the district from engaging in "future unlawful actions."
The plaintiffs are represented in the action by attorney Sheryl Ring, of McHenry.