Unfit to Print

An ongoing refrain I’ve heard from people talking about the Jena 6—especially white liberals—has been an expression of shock and sympathy followed by an often-snarky condemnation of the racism that still permeates the southern U.S. “That’s what it’s like down there,” they say, or “thank god I don’t live there.”

Because there’s no racism in California, right? Or at least, we don’t have white guys beating on black students and calling them racial epithets—it’s not as blatant here, not as overt.

Oh, wait.

Last week, at a high school in Palmdale, CA, a white security guard at the school assaulted a 16-year-old black girl for leaving crumbs on the floor after cleaning up some cake that she had dropped. Another black student filmed the incident, and was also beaten by the guards, as was his sister when she came to his defense.

Pleajhai Mervin apparently was ordered by the guard to clean up her mess, and then was told several times to re-clean the spot, as it wasn’t spotless enough to appease him. After Mervin attempted to leave the area, humiliated, she was attacked by the guard and forced down onto a table. The guard claims he felt “threatened” by her, and was forced to subdue her.

He then yelled, “hold still, nappy-head.”

The girl’s mother, demanding that the guards be held responsible for their actions, apparently pushed one of the guards in anger. She was subsequently arrested and has been suspended from her job at another school in the same county. Her daughter was expelled, then arrested for battery (resisting the guard) and littering (leaving crumbs on the floor). The student who had filmed the event was also arrested, as was his sister, who had come to her brother’s defense while the guards held him down—her wrist was also fractured.

The guard is now on paid leave and is “under investigation.”

UPDATE: The guard has been cleared of all charges. Investigations have found that the guard “showed great patience and used the minimal amount of force necessary in that case.” The official story is now that Mervin dropped “a large cake” (not a piece of cake), and that she initially refused to pick it up, and swore at the guard after he repeatedly told her to clean it up. The student filming the incident was attacked following orders to surrender the video camera (which was not allowed at school, for some reason), and for “inciting the crowd.” I have yet to find any verification or denial of the fact that the guard used racial slurs when subduing the girl. Some stories have suggested that both girls were lying about their wrists being fractured, and that no permanent damage had been done.

Video here and here, and video of the students’ subsequent walkout and protest is here.

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