By KH Hamilton, Education Consultant
On March 10, 2025, a 14-year-old middle school student was violently assaulted by a classmate at Jehue Middle School in Colton, California. According to the student-recorded video that was posted on Instagram and shared on various media outlets, students in the background can be heard hurling anti-Black hate slurs, including the n-word and ‘monkey’ at her while the much taller Latino male student slung her around the classroom.
With such a hateful and unsafe environment stemming from the current political climate in our country, it is not surprising that this incident occurred. Just last month, Escondido school Board member Marlon Taylor was floored when his biracial (Black and White) daughters were called the n-word in their San Dieguito high school. Not to mention the San Diego Urban League and NAACP local branches in San Diego are being slammed with incidents of anti-Black discrimination and hate all across San Diego County schools.
Little if any intervention is taking place, and in the case of the Jehue Middle School, most of her classmates watched on as the violent assault occurred. Shockingly, the substitute teacher who sat in the background continued to address the class as if nothing were happening. The substitute teacher’s failure to intervene, call for help, or come to the student’s aid calls for deep concern. Essentially, they turned a blind eye to the violent assault against this Black female student.
According to the Colton Police Department, the female student used her water bottle as a weapon to assault the male student. She was charged with a felony assault. However, they also acknowledge the male student was engaged in what they called horseplay when he used a toy gun to spray water on both her and her friend in class (a note to fellow educators that there was already chaos and lack of classroom management to begin with and her reaction was caused by his trauma inducing behavior). As for the male assailant, he was cited for a misdemeanor battery. The male student’s mother also reported that her son and family are now receiving death threats.
Several news media outlets and journalists have aired the story as a girl-boy fight, with some news outlets even labeling the female victim as a bully. However, as a journalist and educator, several questions come to mind. Firstly, why was the male student allowed to use a water gun in class and spray it on her and her friend? Secondly, why did the substitute teacher not intervene and ask him to stop? Thirdly, if the substitute teacher did ask and the student failed to comply, why was he not sent to the office or an administrator called to remove him from the class to prevent this incident from happening in the way it did?
The attack lasted for several minutes, where another student was seen instigating and cheering the attacker on until the male student slammed the petite 14-year-old against a desk and knocked her unconscious. He walked away, smirking and picking up his glasses. Two female students can be seen in the video coming to the young student’s aid towards the end of the video as she lay motionless on the ground. One of the student’s parents, Ms. Tapia, described how her daughter walked the student victim, who could barely walk, to the office and was deeply troubled by how the substitute teacher was present when this all occurred. Rialto Unified School District’s Syeta Jafari communicated on behalf of the Rialto Unified School District that the matter of the substitute teacher is being investigated and taken very seriously.
Local Southern California activists, parents, and Black pastors are seeking accountability. Black pastors acknowledge that they used to believe that Black men were targeted the most. However, the 2024 presidential election and the crude remarks made against Kamala Harris prove that Black women [and girls] are the most unprotected people in America. Many are demanding that the Rialto Unified School District expel the student and that the Colton Police Department drop the citation against the Black female student and arrest the student for a hate crime.
CA Senator, Dr. Akilah Weber Pierson (District 39), posted a press release, The California Legislative Black Caucus Demands Answers on Brutal Classroom Assault.
Michael Raven Martin, Esq, a Los Angeles based civil rights attorney who represents families of students who have been bullied also issued the following statement when contacted about this school assault: “Bullying is a crisis that demands immediate action, with nearly 1 in 5 students experiencing it and 53% of U.S. teens identifying online harassment as a major issue.”
If anyone is in contact with the family, please have them reach out to Martin & Martin LLP and ask for Civil Rights Attorneys Areva Martin or Michael Martin at (213) 388-4747.
