Mitchell Family Support Services

Hello friends and neighbors,

 

The State College NAACP is creating this fundraiser to help the family of a sixteen-year-old Black student who was racially harassed at the State College Area High School. For the last five months, this student has been targeted by a white youth who circulated pictures with Nazi insignia and the N-word on his right arm. On February 1, the Black student engaged in a physical altercation with the white boy; the event was recorded and shared on social media. While the white youth was not seriously injured, the police referred the incident to the District Attorney and recommended felony charges for the Black student.  We do not condone the use of any kind of violence to solve problems. However, this approach represents an overreaction. It is criminalizing an event that needs to be addressed through restorative justice practices. It represents a failure to uncover the root cause of the altercation: a longstanding culture of racism and harassment of Black students in our schools.

 

Criminal records can have lasting negative effects on a young person's future, and this student does not deserve that. Through this fundraiser, we hope to provide the family with the support they need.  Please be as generous as you can.