Help Asian students assaulted at South Philadelphia High School! Donate to  Asian Americans United (www.aaunited.org) and the Asian American Legal Defense Fund (www.aaldef.org) and

LaGreta Brown
former South Philadelphia High School principal 

Arlene Ackerman
Superintendent - Philadelphia School District
resigned August 22, 2011



6/16/11: Winners of the Freedom from Fear award: 
Wei Chen, Bach Tong, Duong Nghe Le & Xu Lin: Philadelphia, PA
    Asian immigrant high school students who led an eight-day boycott to stop school violence
    South Philly High is a tough place. Its grim structure occupies an entire city block, and inside its imposing walls student groups stake out their own territory. It used to be a very violent place, especially for recent Asian immigrants.
    When Wei Chen’s father brought him to Philadelphia from China, he spoke no English and had no knowledge of the community’s history of tense race relations. But he discovered immediately that Asian students at the school were being systematically beaten by groups of other students, and that the school administration was doing nothing to stop it. Not knowing what else to do, Wei believed his best chance lay in keeping his head down, working hard and not attracting any attention.
    That didn’t work. A month after starting school, he stood at his locker reaching for a book when a fist smashed into the back of his head, and another into his neck.
    Hundreds of Asian students lived in fear for most of the school day. Most of the school staff had given into the violence and accepted it as inevitable. Instead of fighting back, the students often begged their parents to drop out of school.
    Wei studied the civil rights movement tried to organize students to stand up against the attacks, boycott classes and demand that the school administration take more aggressive action to prevent them. But too many were fearful of reprisal and disapproval from their own parents, who were culturally resistant to challenge authority.
    Wei formed a new group called the Chinese-American Student Association. He greeted all new Chinese immigrant students as they first arrived at the school to help them make the transition. And he started keeping a notebook, detailing assaults on immigrant students. Before long he had filled it with excruciating details of violence and administrative neglect.
    On December 3rd, 2009, 30 Asian immigrant students were violently attacked and sent to the hospital emergency room. In the days following the melee, Wei brought forth his notebook, full of names and phone numbers for every student he had welcomed to America in the past two years. In the weekend after the attacks, he called each of them, calling anew for a boycott.
    He got to work encouraging other students to stay strong and resist the adults who demanded they return to the school. In a city that struggles to get its young people to attend school, Wei had to fight to keep his friends from sneaking back into class. He drafted a letter for the other students to take home to their parents, explaining the cause. He sent a representative to the school to collect homework assignments, and created an enrollment form that concerned students could sign to show they weren’t just taking an unauthorized holiday.
    More than 50 Asian students joined Wei in protest over the next eight days. They eventually filed a civil rights complaint against the District. Their actions garnered national attention and created change at the school. The principal resigned and her successor has made school safety a priority. Some 126 new security cameras were installed throughout the school and extra security staff and counselors were brought in. Most importantly, Wei and his fellow students refused to blame other students of color for the violence, instead insisting that the administration take responsibility for school safety.
    Wei showed a level of maturity, clear headedness and equanimity beyond his years. His example has inspired other Asian immigrant students across Philadelphia to create Asian immigrant student organizations in their own high schools. Wei and others have also started a citywide Asian student organization, Asian Student Association of Philadelphia (ASAP), which is working with other youth organizations on Philadelphia’s Campaign for Non-Violent Schools. Wei’s physical and moral courage have inspired students citywide to see the possibility and necessity of challenging schools to creating safe learning environments for all students, including immigrants.
http://freedomfromfearaward.com/celebrate/asap 


Statements of the Asian American students who were attacked
http://aaunited.org/campaigns/sphs/ 


On December 3, 2009, 26 Asian students were attacked and beaten by a large group of their peers, mostly African American, throughout the school day at South Philadelphia High School. 13 of the students who were attacked wound up in the hospital. There was already a history of violence against Asian students--many of them immigrants--at the school, whose student body is 64.6% African American, 22.4% Asian American, 6.3% White, 5.8% Latino, and 0.8% Other, yet district officials were quick to dismiss that the December 3rd attacks had been racially motivated.

After meeting with district officials following the attacks, a group of over 60 Asian American students remained unconvinced that their safety at school would be ensured and organized an eight day-long boycott. Wei Chen, a senior at the time, made this statement for the group:

"It is our opinion that South Philadelphia High School is still not a safe place for us. Because we are Asian immigrants, we are targeted. We have been working with the school a long time, but still the school has failed to provide a concrete plan to address our safety inside and outside the building. 

"We remain very upset with some staff members who are unresponsive to our concerns. We have been saying repeatedly that the security team has problems, but the School District still has not responded to our concerns. One staff person even slept through our meeting last Friday.  Because of that we will not return to South Philadelphia High School this week. Instead, we are going to meet in our community to figure out some real solutions of our own. Dozens of students have already committed to meeting during school hours. We ask the police and school district to recognize what we're doing and respect our ability to travel between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.  We invite concerned students from all races to contact us if you want to join."  

During the boycott, the students asked to meet with Philadelphia School District Superintendent Arlene Ackerman about their safety concerns, but Dr. Ackerman refused, saying she would only meet with them on school grounds "where they belong."

In January 2010, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund interceded on behalf of the students and filed a civil rights violation complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice against South Philadelphia High School and the Philadelphia School District. The complaint revealed that the AALDEF had actually been working for over a year with various other groups to address the hostile environment towards Asian students that existed at the school:

"The complaint charges that the District and School acted with "deliberate indifference" to the harassment against Asian students and "intentional disregard for the welfare of Asian students" at SPHS. The complaint cites numerous instances in which school officials were notified by teachers and Asian students about the increasingly hostile environment towards Asian students but failed to take any steps to prevent the widespread attacks on Asian students on December 3, 2009. 

"On December 3, 2009, large numbers of Asian immigrant students from SPHS were assaulted in and around the school throughout the day.  Thirteen Asian students were sent to the hospital due to their injuries. For over a year before the December 3rd attacks, AALDEF in collaboration with local community groups - Asian Americans United, Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation, Boat People SOS, Victim/Witness Services of South Philadelphia, Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia, and Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Associations Coalition, Inc. - urged school and district officials to address in the increasingly hostile environment for Asian students at SPHS without success."  

In February, a little more than two months after the attacks, the Philadelphia Schools District commissioned a report on the violence that had occurred at South Philadelphia High School. Superintendent Ackerman called the report "thorough and comprehensive" and "fair."  But Helen Gym, a board member of Asian Americans United, a Philadelphia-based advocacy group, pointed out what appeared to be fairly obvious flaws in the report, all of which worked to deflect responsibility for the attacks from the school:

1) No review of the history of violence at SPHS: For more than a year, students and community advocates documented dozens of incidents of harassment and assaults on Asian immigrant students at the school. Yet, Judge Giles said he was directed to limit his investigation to only two days, December 2 and December 3rd. Only three sentences in the report (p. 28) reference prior violence at the school. The investigation also ignored documented efforts by students and community advocates to implement critical changes to address racially motivated violence at the school. 

2) Limited interviews: The investigation only involved a fraction of the student victims and neglected the majority of victims, as well as other witnesses, school staff and community advocates who were at the scene on December 3. In a number of instances, those individuals interviewed expressed concern that they were denied a chance to tell their full stories and were cut off when they attempted to do so.

3) Limited attention to racial bias: While the investigation acknowledged the role of race in the assaults and harassment against Asian immigrant students, it does not recognize racial bias in the failure of the District to respond to that harassment and communicate with families and students. In particular, it does not address how the on-going harassment of Asian immigrant students and the school's failure to respond creates a hostile climate for Asian immigrant youth at South Philly.

4) Innuendo and rumors as deflection: I was particularly troubled by the use of innuendo and rumor to suggest that the events of Dec. 3rd may have been gang-related. Two pages are devoted to references to gang activity despite the fact that no credible evidence was presented other than the suggestion that group activity is "reminiscent of a street gang conflict" (p. 5). In any investigation, it's essential that innuendos, gossip and rumors be addressed and put to rest. It's troubling that a stereotype of urban youth is so casually deployed in this report to deflect attention away from school accountability.

In April, another Asian student at South Philadelphia High School was assaulted, but the school district ruled that the student had been attacked "carelessly but unintentionally," despite a conflicting witness account. 

Before the start of the next school year, in August 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice informed the Philadelphia School District that they had found merit in the Asian students' claims that they were singled out for abuse at South Philadelphia High School. From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

"In a letter to the district, the Justice Department advised school officials to take steps to settle the matter. It was not immediately clear what form a settlement might take, though it would require the district to improve the treatment of Asian students, who say they have been mocked, harassed, and beaten at the school."

Finally, on December 15, 2010, one year and 12 days after 26 Asian students were assaulted at South Philadelphia High School, the Philadelphia School District reached an agreement with the Justice Department to address anti-Asian violence at the school. CNN reported on the details of the settlement:

"The settlements require South Philadelphia High School to submit an anti-harassment action plan, and continue implementing policies and procedures to prevent harassment based on race, color and/or national origin...

"The settlements, which hold the district responsible for implementation and oversight, resolve eight discrimination complaints alleging widespread harassment of Asian students at South Philadelphia High School."


12/15/10 press release:
Justice Department Reaches Agreement with Philadelphia School District to Resolve Harassment Allegations; Also Reaches Agreement with School Reform Commission
    WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced a settlement agreement with the School District of Philadelphia and the School Reform Commission to resolve an investigation into a complaint of race, color and/or national origin-based harassment of Asian students at South Philadelphia High School, and allegations that the school district was deliberately indifferent to the severe and pervasive harassment. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) announced a separate agreement with the School District of Philadelphia and the School Reform Commission. 
    The complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, made by the Asian-American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), alleged persistent harassment, including an incident in December 2009, in which approximately 30 Asian students were attacked and approximately 13 were sent to the emergency room. Under Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, school districts are required to protect students from harassment based on race, color, sex, national origin or religion.
    With the cooperation of the district, AALDEF, numerous community advocacy groups, students, and numerous witnesses, the department conducted an extensive investigation of the school district’s policies and practices with regard to student-on-student harassment. The settlement agreement will ensure that the district: retains an expert consultant in the area of harassment and discrimination based on race, color and/or national origin to review the district’s policies and procedures concerning harassment; develops and implements a comprehensive plan for preventing and addressing student-on-student harassment at the high school; conducts training of faculty, staff and students on discrimination and harassment based on race, color and/or national origin and to increase multi-cultural awareness; maintains records of investigations and responses to allegations of harassment; and provides annual compliance reports to the department and the PHRC as well as makes harassment data publicly available.
    "Schools have an obligation to ensure a safe learning environment for everyone. We will continue to use all of the tools in our law enforcement arsenal to ensure that all students can go to school without fearing harassment," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "I applaud the proactive steps taken by the school district to address this matter, as well as the courageous actions of students, parents and community leaders who came forward to call attention to the pervasive harassment." 
    Zane David Memeger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, added that, "All children in the school district are the big winners today." Memeger said, "We hope that the investigation and our settlement agreement represent the start of a corrective action plan that eventually will eliminate student-on-student harassment in all Philadelphia public schools, not just South Philadelphia High School."


1/26/10 press release: "DOJ Investigates Racial Violence against Philadelphia Students,"
    The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) today filed a complaint for civil rights violations with the U.S. Department of Justice charging the School District of Philadelphia and South Philadelphia High School (SPHS) with discrimination against Asian students on the basis of race and national origin in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
    The complaint charges that the District and School acted with "deliberate indifference" to the harassment against Asian students and "intentional disregard for the welfare of Asian students" at SPHS. The complaint cites numerous instances in which school officials were notified by teachers and Asian students about the increasingly hostile environment towards Asian students but failed to take any steps to prevent the widespread attacks on Asian students on December 3, 2009.
    On December 3, 2009, large numbers of Asian immigrant students from SPHS were assaulted in and around the school throughout the day. Thirteen Asian students were sent to the hospital due to their injuries. For over a year before the December 3rd attacks, AALDEF in collaboration with local community groups - Asian Americans United, Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation, Boat People SOS, Victim/Witness Services of South Philadelphia, Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia, and Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Associations Coalition, Inc. - urged school and district officials to address in the increasingly hostile environment for Asian students at SPHS without success.
    AALDEF Staff Attorney Cecilia Chen said: "The failure of the Philadelphia School District and South Philadelphia High School to acknowledge and address the severe harassment of Asian students at SPHS led to the December 3rd attacks. The School and District must be held accountable for failing to protect Asian students at SPHS."
    Following the attacks on December 3rd, over sixty Asian students from SPHS boycotted the school for eight days citing fear for their safety and concern at the District's repeated failure to address the widespread anti-Asian violence at the school.
    Chen continued: "The students have gone back to school but that does not mean that the school is now safe. Asian immigrant students are still being targeted and threatened. We want to ensure that Asian immigrant students can go to school in a safe environment."
    The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), founded in 1974, is a national organization that protects and promotes the civil rights of Asian Americans. By combining litigation, advocacy, education, and organizing, AALDEF works with Asian American communities across the country to secure human rights for all.


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