DALLAS — Grand Prairie NAACP is calling for the resignation of John Dubiski Career High School’s principal, pointing to what the organization’s president described as a “toxic” culture of racism that has been ignored by administrators.
The call for resignation comes about a week after video showing multiple students spelling out the N-word and saying it aloud in a classroom at the high school. Sam Buchmeyer, a spokesman for the district, has said school officials learned of the video March 12. He said the district would “fully investigate” the incident and “hold those involved accountable,” adding that school officials would have more information after spring break.
In a written statement Thursday, the school district officials said the investigation of the video was “swift and comprehensive.” He said all of the students who were involved in the incident “have been held accountable to the fullest extent” of the district’s student code of conduct. Any other allegations related to the video will also be investigated, according to the district.
“There is no excuse for the poor behavior of the students captured on video recently at Dubiski Career High School,” the statement read. “It saddened and offended us all. It also served as a bold reminder our work toward ending racism in our schools, and our communities, must be ongoing.”
Angela Luckey, president of Grand Prairie NAACP, said the district’s response is insufficient. She said Holly Mohler, the principal of Dubiski High School, chosen to “turn her head” away from the concerns of her students.
“Since this racist video had surfaced, this administration has shut the door in our face and is refusing to give an explanation and refusing to expel these students that have offended the Black students in this school district,” Luckey said at a press conference the organization held in front of the district’s administration building.
Amaia Davis, who is a freshman at Dubiski High School, said during the press conference that she had attended multiple Grand Prairie ISD schools.
“Before I went to Dubiski, I had never experienced racism like this,” Davis said.
Davis said she had an easy time “harmonizing” with her peers and found common interests. When she started attending Dubiski High School, Davis said she noticed that students at the school seemed “separated.” She also said she thinks there is a lack of security at the school campus.
“It has been the same, even after the video has popped up,” Davis said. “So many people want to address this problem and nothing has changed.”
Multiple experiences have made her feel another student was being racist toward her, Davis said. She reported the issue to teachers, but “nothing has happened,” she added.
Davis’ mother Shavsha, who also spoke at the press conference, said she and her husband have considered taking her daughter out of the district. She said the family fears there will be retaliation against her daughter for speaking out.
Although she already advised her daughter on how to react to the previous racist experiences, Shavsha Davis said the video of students uttering the slur prompted her to speak out Thursday.
Davis said she and her husband, who have lived in Grand Prairie for 20 years, moved their daughter to Dubiski so that she could have a better education and a better environment for career success.
“To move my child because of a culture of oppression and racism at school is something that’s very hard to consider and I don’t feel that we should be have to be making that sort of decision in this day and age,” she said.
Grand Prairie ISD did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the press conference and the accusations made by Luckey.
Luckey said the NAACP chapter plans to a complaint to the Office for Civil Rights, which is overseen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She said she has contacted NAACP leadership at the national level and will discuss further steps with the organization’s counsel if Mohler does not resign.
