Anonymous

Even after moving out of Kirkwood and into a different school district, Anonymous still hears of the racial issues within KSD. Attending KSD until middle school, Anonymous said  they had not experienced much racism in their time at Kirkwood, noting that the teachers seemed kind to everyone. They said they used to love how Kirkwood did not appear to have racial discrimination, but now sees the issues Black students are facing over social media. 

“I’ve heard a lot about sick incidents going on, [and the hate crime] is one of them,” Anonymous said. “I just [see] people putting on their stories how Kirkwood is so racist and how they treat [Black students] differently, and how a lot of Caucasian kids are doing Black face, painting their faces and saying the N-word.”

After KPD revealed one of the people involved was Black, people began commenting things like, “The irony is just so incredibly rich,” or “It’s not a hate crime anymore,” Anonymous said. They said they were angry and confused by these comments, thinking it was weird how hard people in the comments were trying to argue with the Black students on their opinions regarding the vandalism.

“This doesn’t affect [the white commenters], it just doesn’t. If someone called them the N-word to their face they’d probably just laugh about [it],” Anonymous said. “[I’m a Black person] saying this is not ok [and that] this is a hate crime or the closest thing to it, and everyone else is saying it, [so] that’s the end of the story.” 

Prior to learning the identities of the individuals involved, a group of KHS students organized a march in response to the Kirkwood Police Department (KPD) not labeling the vandalism a hate crime. This march was also a way to give their Black peers support.  Anonymous said they loved the march but were sad their friends felt like Kirkwood would not be able to grow from this. 

“I was going to go with a friend, but then she said, ‘In a way, I don’t really see a point because Kirkwood is so racist that no matter what we do, nothing will change,’” Anonymous said. “That made me sad because I hate that [Black students at Kirkwood] have to feel that way and feel that, even if they do protest and even if they do share their voices, nothing will happen.”

Anonymous said they saw some of their white friends attend the march. They explained that support from non-Black people is what the Kirkwood community needs in order to move in a positive direction. 

 “I did see some of my friends, [who] happen to be white, and they were protesting,” Anonymous said. “ I love people like them. They say that while they don’t exactly feel the same and they don’t go through the same stuff, that they [still] support [us]. That’s what I love because those are the types of people we need in Kirkwood.”