Rochester Public Schools Respond to Weekend Racist Incident

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - The Rochester School District has issued a public statement concerning the display of a racial slur on the pedestrian bridge located near Century High School.

Reports indicate the racial slur was spelled out using the red plastic cups that had been pushed into the chain-link fencing on the bridge. Rochester police received a report concerning the racist message around 6:20 AM on Sunday, but a spokesperson says it had already been removed by the time officers arrived at the scene.

The school district statement reads, "We understand and share the hurt this has caused to people in our community, especially to our Black and brown students. We want to reiterate that hate language, in any form, has no place within our RPS community.

 

Though this incident did not occur on RPS property, we believe that it is the collective responsibility of the RPS community to be actively and intentionally anti-racist, both individually and collectively. Combating racism will take a collaborative effort with members of the school district working with families and the community to address the root causes of prejudice, bias, and discrimination. Together, we can uphold the values of the school district and community at large, and we call on the Rochester community to continue to work together to create an environment where all people feel valued and included and an environment where people not only feel they belong but where they would also want to live."

Rochester Public Schools Superintendent Kent Pekel also mentioned the incident in a Facebook post over the weekend.

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