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‘We are fed up’: Tukwila students want action after alleged racial incidents

Students and teachers at Foster High School say something has to be done about racial slurs being used at school.

TUKWILA, Wash. — Students at Foster High School in Tukwila say school administrators are not taking enough action about racist remarks and slurs being made on campus. 

Foster High School’s Black Student Union President Zeineb Abdu said it’s a conversation long overdue.

"Students and teachers have been getting away with racist comments, and we have had enough of it. We are fed up," said Abdu.

Student Solyana Tesfai said she has dealt with the racist comments too.

"It is really sickening," Tesfai said.

“All of this sparked with two girls saying the n-word as they were lip-synching to a song and they posted it on their Snapchat story. That circulated everywhere, and it ignited all of this conversation,” Abdu explained.

It is a conversation students brought before the school board on Tuesday night.

"I don't feel comfortable coming here when I encounter racist situations and nothing satisfactory is being done about it," one student told the room. 

One teacher told the school board about her experience with administrators.

“Just this year, I have brought six racial incidents to their attention and not one of those incidents were handled with care, policy, or urgency. I am asking you, the board, to hold our administrators accountable and call for action,” the teacher said.

“These are things that the board takes seriously, and your words have power. That's why you are here, and that is why we are here as well,” a school board member said at the end of public comments.

Dr. Lester "Flip" Herndon, the district’s new superintendent, plans to meet with the Black Student Union later this week to keep the conversation going.

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