The superintendent of the Piedmont Unified School District is responding after district staff sent out an email inviting students to a “white student support circle” following the verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin.
A video shared on Tiktok shows an email sent by the district’s assistant superintendent inviting students to a “restorative community circle” to “support White students who would like to discuss how the trial, verdict, and experiences related to the George Floyd murder are impacting you.”
The email says staff will be “holding a space for our White students to process, share, and listen to one another.”
The video has been viewed over 230,000 times with more than 76,000 likes. It was posted by a user identifying as a student who said he wanted the email to go viral in order to hold the district accountable.
Superintendent Randall Booker released a statement saying it was a “poor choice of words,” which “led to the perception that White students needed the same kind of ‘support’ as our BIPOC students. Students of all racial backgrounds rightfully pushed back on that idea.”
Booker says the intention of the event was to offer white students a space to discuss and learn about how to be a better ally in issues of racial justice, and that the district was also planning other events for BIPOC students as well as events for students of all races to come together.
Piedmont is a predominantly white and wealthy city that is completely surrounded by the city of Oakland.
Video of Chauvin, a former police officer, kneeling on the neck of George Floyd for nine and a half minutes went viral last summer and triggered widespread protests and a national reckoning over racial injustice.
The PUSD issued a resolution and board policy following Floyd’s death stating the district’s commitment to anti-racism and an acknowledgement of the institutional racism in Piedmont’s own history.
Booker said the district is still committed to those values and thanked students who pushed back on the messaging, although he stopped short of issuing an apology. Booker said it was a helpful reminder to staff that, “even when the intention is honorable and right, we need to communicate with sensitivity and care.”
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