Some Lakewood High newspaper readers took an article and photo as a hurtful racial insult.
By JON WILSON
Published April 18, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - The seasonal prom edition of Lakewood High School's student newspaper came out April 7, but the showcased formal wear didn't win the most attention.
Instead, much of the buzz around the 54th Avenue S school focused on a photograph and a sentence in an article that, taken in combination, suggested to some students and teachers a hurtful racial insult.
A rambling article headlined "Wake Up Lakewood" admonished students on a number of subjects, including hygiene, behavior in hallways, and the vote for Homecoming King and Queen.
But one line stood out, even though school officials made a belated, and mostly unsuccessful effort to mark out the words: "Don't run like monkeys toward a fight."
It wasn't a caption, but the sentence was printed near a photograph showing eight students, seven of them African-American, standing or walking near the cafeteria. No actual caption accompanied the photo.
The complaints began almost as soon as the 12-page paper started circulating. Students submitted them in writing.
They focused on the use of the word "monkeys" and the perception that it was a reference to the African-Americans pictured about an inch away from the word.
Referring to African-Americans in simian terms is considered highly offensive by many black people. The antipathy, often not understood by white people, is rooted in centuries of name-calling - "intended to cause pain in a race of people and to degrade and demean them purposefully," said Darryl Rouson, St. Petersburg NAACP president.
It is an example of the power of words, and the need to be aware how they are uttered or written, perhaps especially in St. Petersburg, which has experienced decades of racial tension.
Three years ago, mayor Rick Baker fired police chief Mack Vines after the chief used the word "orangutan" in referring to the action of a black suspect.
Rouson said the NAACP's executive board will discuss the Lakewood High matter this week and determine whether to register an official reaction.
The episode received a passing mention at last week's School Board meeting, but drew no formal attention.
At Lakewood, it became an exercise in early 21st-century human relations. School officials and consultants tried to move quickly to assuage hard feelings.
The day after the paper appeared, Lakewood principal Fred Ulrich called a meeting to discuss the article.
He invited students and teachers who complained. The author of the article, who is white, was present. So was Sheila Keller, who is a human relations specialist for the school district, and Roy Kaplan, executive director of the National Conference of Community and Justice.
"We created a dialogue," Keller said. Ground rules were set. "We began by going around the circle and letting each student have a time to talk about what they're thinking and feeling. There's no name-calling. At least in the initial stages, there is a lot of emotion but it is appropriately displayed."
Twenty to 30 people attended the three-hour meeting, including some students who considered the words and photo offensive. The school's student population is 1,665, according to school district records.
Ulrich sent an apology letter home to parents. He also went on closed-circuit school television to apologize. So did D.J. Newmark, the article's author, Ulrich said.
Newmark, a senior who couldn't be reached for comment, wrote the article about five months ago. This month's was the first edition of the Centurion published since then. Newmark did not choose the photo that ran with the article or determine its placement on the page, school officials said.
Ulrich described the article as "sophomoric at best," but said there was no intent to suggest a slur.
Keller and Kaplan agreed, and said the meeting was beneficial in handling the episode.
"I think it worked. It helped reduce some of the tension," said Kaplan, whose organization helped put together the school system's multicultural program about 15 years ago.
Ulrich said the editing and proofreading process should have prevented the offensive material from reaching print, particularly in the positioning of the photo. "The right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing," he said.
He said he didn't order a full-scale investigation of the editing process because he didn't think the situation warranted it.
"Three students do the checking of the paper before it goes to press. Two are African-Americans, one white, or maybe it's the other way around. The African-American students didn't seem to be concerned about it," Ulrich said.
