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Students are protesting in support of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s programs for Black students after President Donald Trump vowed to take aim at such efforts.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Education announced it may withhold funding for any schools with race-based programming. In a memo sent to districts nationwide, the department ordered schools to stop using “racial preferences” as a factor in admissions, financial aid or any practice that treats students or workers differently because of their race.
Now Los Angeles teens, working with the Police Free LAUSD Coalition, are trying to preserve diversity, equity and inclusion programs in LAUSD by showing their support for them.
Last month, students, parents and local education activists with the coalition gathered at Iglesia Luterana St. Marks, a church in South Central Los Angeles, to rally for LA Unified’s DEI programming.
The event, billed as a cross between a protest and a town hall meeting, also aimed to open up conversation about the lack of protections for gay and minority students under the Trump administration, said Maki Draper, a student leader with activist group Students Deserve.
“I’m here to stand up for my people,” Draper said. “Stand up for those who feel like they might not have a voice. Stand up for those who are under attack right now.”
In addition to the actions by the Trump administration, Draper said advocates were speaking out against a civil rights complaint filed by a Virginia-based organization, Parents Defending Education, against LAUSD’s Black Student Achievement Plan, which gives certain schools extra resources.
The complaint argued that the BSAP violated federal law by “using race ‘solely’ as a criteria for admission” and prompted the district to announce that it would stop using race as a factor in choosing which schools participate in the program.
Draper said the BSAP provides opportunities for Black students after historical oppression. The program places counselors and social workers in about 50 schools with large populations of Black students.
Through the program, students have been able to tour Historically Black Colleges and Universities, participate in unique clubs and receive more mental health services.
“With BSAP, I kind of feel more supported,” said Devon Beard, a senior at George Washington Preparatory Senior High School, who also attended the coalition event at Iglesia Luterana St. Marks.
“It gives students a reason to go to school, like they actually want to get up in the morning,” Beard added.
In 2020, the coalition successfully advocated for the defunding of $25 million from school police which was then put into BSAP.
This year, the coalition’s organizers want LAUSD to expand the BSAP budget by $100 million annually and reinstate race as a criterion for the program, despite the complaint filed and that administration’s recent actions.
The coalition has launched a sticker campaign to push those goals. Students passed out stickers at Iglesia Luterana St. Marks that said “LAUSD must protect Black, undocumented, and LGBTQ students,” and put them on their laptops and water bottles.
Threats by the Trump administration for an immigration crackdown have already roiled LAUSD, said Alexa Delgado, a junior at Edward R. Roybal Learning Center who attended last month’s event at Iglesia Luterana St. Marks.
Delgado said a series of walkouts across LAUSD schools earlier this month showed a desire to stand up against immigration enforcement and ensure immigrant students know their rights and are protected by their schools.
“No child should walk out of their home and be scared that they’re going to be taken away,” Delgado said. “And no parent should be scared that the child isn’t going to get home at the end of the day.”
This article is part of a collaboration between The 74 and the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
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