BY AUTUMN KNOWLTON AND KATE PORTER
This column is written and edited by the Young Socialists (YS), an international organization of young workers, students, and other youth fighting for socialism. For more information about the YS write to: Young Socialists, 1573 N. Milwaukee, P.O. Box #478, Chicago, Ill. 60622. Tel: (773) 772-0551. Compuserve: 105162,605

SEATTLE - On March 2, 35 students gathered on the steps of Roosevelt High School to protest racism in their school. The protest was organized by the Black Student Alliance (BSA). Among the organizations that attended were the BSA, the Pan African Student/Youth Movement, and the Young Socialists.

The students demanded to see the principal, who arranged to have a meeting with the group of students. They had met with the principal the previous week, but decided that it was necessary to call another meeting. At a meeting held after the rally, the principal brought with him a cop and members of the school security. A spokesperson for the BSA presented the students' demands on the school administration.

One of the main complaints of the students is that while Black students are only 8 percent of the student population at Roosevelt, they are 40 percent of those expelled. Black students are commonly expelled based on the hearsay of other students. A number of Black students reported incidents in which their teachers openly insulted them and called them racial epithets in front of other students. A key issue in the discussion was the transfer of a special education teacher, who is Black, under the pretext that there was a greater need for him at another school in the district.

One of the demands of the Black Student Alliance is that an African history class be required for graduation. There is only one African-American literature class and no Black history classes. Out of 100 staff members at the school, only two are Black. The students also demanded that all expulsions and suspensions be evaluated by a human rights review panel, composed of members of different nationalities on campus, to be trained by the Seattle Human Rights Commission. When asked what the youth plan to do to change the situation for Black students at school, Ramon Curry, a member of BSA, stated, "The only way people get anything done is by demanding."  
 
 
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