On December 3rd, 2009, 26 Asian immigrant students were attacked both inside and directly outside of South Philadelphia High School. Read more about this issue »

December 9th, 2009 School Reform Commission Meeting: Read the testimonies of Asian immigrant students from South Philly High »

Read about the South Philly High Campaign actions »

Media coverage of the issue from Dec 2009 to Feb 2010 »

School District Investigation

Download the full report (pdf)

Earlier this week, Judge James Giles released the findings of a District investigation into the violence on Dec. 3 at South Philadelphia High School. Among the findings was confirmation of widespread violence at the school starting before 9 a.m. and continuing throughout the day on Dec. 3rd with clear knowledge of that violence by school officials. The violence was acknowledged to have some relationship to race. The report also revealed that it could not substantiate a highly publicized charge that Asian students had beaten up a disabled African American student the day before. That allegation was based on hearsay, according to the report, and the Judge could not determine whether the African American student was a victim or an attacker in that situation.

At the same time, Asian Americans United and advocates who have worked on addressing violence at South Philadelphia High School for more than a year raised serious concerns about the inadequacy of the Judge’s report, including:

• the report’s focus on two dates, Dec. 2 and 3, ignoring a much longer pattern of anti-Asian/anti-immigrant violence at the school;
• the failure to interview the majority of student victims as well as a number of witnesses on the scene Dec. 3;
• limited attention paid to racial bias and language access concerns with regard to official school action; and
• short-sighted recommendation that are mostly punitive towards students and fail to address how to build a more supportive and inclusive academic and social environment for all students at South Philadelphia High School.

The gravest concern, however, is that the report essentially absolves the District and school leadership of any responsibility. In fact, the report seems to imply that if we were to revisit that day on December 3rd the administration of SPHS could have made the exact same choices – and that is a frightening analysis. Without some measure of accountability and understanding of what could and should have been done differently, we have no way to move forward, as we have been urged by District officials. In fact, the refusal to address responsibility is part of the reason we have seen repeated violence at South Philadelphia High School. The report underscores that we still need an independent and thorough investigation by the Department of Justice and other entities to responsibly understand and address the violence at SPHS.

You can read a copy of the report here as well as a more extensive analysis of concerns detailed by AAU Board member Helen Gym at the Public School Notebook website: http://thenotebook.org/blog/102271/no-resolution-violence-south-philly-hs

Media Coverage:

• The Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial: Now take the next step – Mar. 3, 2010
• Philadelphia Daily News Editorial: School report gets an “incomplete.” – Mar. 3, 2010
• The Philadelphia Public School Notebook: A graphic account of South Philly violence – By Paul Socolar, Feb. 24, 2010
• The Philadelphia Inquirer: Report released on racial violence at S. Phila. High – By Kristen A. Graham and Jeff Gammage, Feb. 24, 2010
• Philadelphia Daily News: Asian group hits report on school fights – By Dafney Tales, Feb. 24, 2010
• The Philadelphia Inquirer: Report: fights, rumors led to racial beatings at South Phila. High – By Kristen A. Graham and Jeff Gammage, Feb. 23, 2010

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AALDEF Files Civil Rights Complaint Against Philadelphia School District

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) today filed a complaint for civil rights violations with the U.S. Department of Justice charging the School District of Philadelphia and South Philadelphia High School (SPHS) with discrimination against Asian students on the basis of race and national origin in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Download the full press release.

or read it here »

South Philly Teen Still Missing

Please watch: Mystery of Missing South Philly Teen – Denise Nakano, NBC Philadelphia

Jason Vu has been missing since Dec. 24th, 2009.

Born: April 5, 1995
Missing: Dec. 24, 2009 from Philadelphia, PA
Age 14, male with black hair and brown eyes, 5′4″ (163 cm) and 140 lbs (64 kg).

If anyone has any information, please contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1.800.843.5678 (1.800.THE.LOST) or the Philadelphia Police Department (Pennsylvania) at 215.686.3013.

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