BY SYLVIA HANSEN
SAN DIEGO - More than 400 students from the predominantly
white West Hills High School in Santee, California, marched
from the school grounds to a nearby park November 5 to protest
the racist beating of Lance Cpl. Carlos Colbert. The spirited
students carried sings reading "End racism" and "Stop the hate"
and chanted, "Hey, hey, ho, ho, racism's got to go!"
Colbert, a marine who is Black and is stationed at Camp Pendleton here, was attending a party May 30, when he was beaten by white supremacists yelling, "Get that nigger!" and "White power." Several other marines, some of whom came under attack themselves, were able to remove Colbert from the scene and take him to Camp Pendleton for medical treatment. Doctors there determined that his neck had been broken. Colbert has remained paralyzed from the neck down since then.
The November 5 march culminated in a rally during which several students read letters to Colbert denouncing the attack on him. Jonathan Kakacek, a West Hills student, quoted from Nelson Mandela's 1994 inaugural address to stress to those present that their actions can make a difference. A total of 2,000 solidarity letters written by students were presented to Colbert's unit.
The rally coincided with a court hearing to decide whether the five men arrested for the assault will be tried. Following the hearing three of the five were charged with conspiracy, assault resulting in great bodily injury, and commission of a racist crime. Two were indicted on lesser charges. All five have been ordered to stand trial.