(BALTIMORE, MD, 9/7/2022) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today urged a school in Bethesda, Md., to use a reported racist incident involving a group of students as an opportunity to teach about the harms of racism.
A group of mostly white students from Bethesda’s Landon School were reportedly filmed on the D.C. Metro singing verses of a song that contained the n-word. When someone in the video appeared to call attention to the students’ use of the racial slur by saying “yo, yo,” the students laughed. The video led to backlash on social media, and the school said the students’ conduct was “unacceptable and antithetical” to the school’s values.
SEE: Landon School students recorded singing racial slur on D.C. metro train
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/09/06/landon-school-students-n-word-dc-metro/
“Instead of taking purely punitive action, we urge teachers and administrators at Landon to use this incident as a teaching opportunity and educate the students involved about the harms and dangers of racism,” said CAIR’s Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry.
She said CAIR and the American Muslim community stand in solidarity with all those challenging antisemitism, anti-Black racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, and white supremacy.
SEE: CAIR-NJ Welcomes South Plainfield Mayor’s Statement Denouncing White Supremacist Group at Labor Day Parade
Video: CAIR-MN Responds to Attack on Minneapolis Mosque, Seeks Info from Community
CAIR-NY to Release Bias and Hate Crimes Report Documenting Prevalence of Hate Targeting Muslim New Yorkers
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational
Subscribe to CAIR’s Email List
https://action.cair.com/a/newsletters
Subscribe to CAIR’s Twitter Feed
http://twitter.com/cairnational
Subscribe to CAIR’s YouTube Channel
Follow CAIR on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/cair_national/
Donate to CAIR
https://action.cair.com/a/donate
Do you like reading CAIR press releases and taking part in our action alerts? You can help contribute to CAIR’s work of defending civil rights and empowering American Muslims across the country by making a one-time contribution or becoming a monthly donor. Supporters like you make CAIR’s advocacy work possible and defeating Islamophobia an achievable goal. Click here to donate to CAIR.
You are receiving this email due to your interest selection from commercial media databases. If you would like to join CAIR’s media list, please sign up here: https://action.cair.com/a/newsletters — For more information, email: info@cair.com, CC ihooper@cair.com
END
CONTACT: CAIR Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry, zchaudry@cair.com, 410-971-6062