West Cook News

Oak Park & River Forest High School will hold Black Professionals Days” Wednesday, Feb. 23

OPRF has noted the audience is for “African American students.”

The school has a history of segregation when based on ethnicity.

“On Thursday, February 23rd during 7th/8th periods (2 p.m. - 5 p.m.), there will be a half-day conference focusing on career experiences for African American students by providing an opportunity to hear from and converse with African American representatives of various professions,” an announcement reads.

“The goal is to provide post-secondary options, pathways, and connections for OPRF students. SIGN UP HERE! Open to ALL Students!”

The event is OPRF’s 13th annual Black Professionals Day.

Last year’s event included performances by students and coincided with the National African American Parent Involvement Dinner.

OPRF has a history of limiting events to only allow black students to attend.

The high school was slapped with a Tile VI violation for limiting the participation of a school event to only black students.

In that instance, the U.S. Department of Education investigated the ‘Racially Exclusive Assembly.”

“On February 27, 2015, the District discriminated against students on the basis of race (non-African American) when it held a student assembly entitled “Black Lives Matter” that only African American students were permitted to attend,” the DOE wrote in its violation notice.

OPRF defended its actions in segregating students based on the color of their skin alone.

“According to the District, in light of the police actions involving African American victims in Ferguson and New York and subsequent events, a group of students considered staging a “walk out,” believing their voices were not being heard regarding ongoing controversies surrounding the “Black Lives Matter” movement in the country. To channel the students’ energy in a more constructive manner, District administration developed a concept for an assembly. That initiative developed into a “Black Lives Matter” assembly held by the District during the school day on February 27, 2015, as the final activity for Black History Month. The District acknowledged that it convened an assembly for African American students only,” the DOE’s report reads.

“According to its narrative response to OCR, the District determined that, in order to provide a comfortable forum for black students to express their frustrations, it would limit the assembly to participation by students who self-identified as black. Some students who self-identified as white were directed by District officials not to participate in the event as this assembly was designed for students who self-identify as black. During the assembly, students talked about their experiences being black on a broader scale and their experiences at Oak Park River Forest (OPRF) High School. According to press reports, African American students described their experiences in being the only black student in advanced placement classes, having few black teachers and their feelings about always having to represent their race rather than themselves in classroom discussions.”

“After the holding the assembly, some students and parents voiced concerns about the racially exclusive nature of the assembly.”

After an investigation, the DOE found OPRF had not investigated the possibility of welcoming other ethnicities to attend that event.  

“OCR next examined whether the racially exclusive assembly was narrowly tailored to achieve the District’s compelling diversity interest,” the DOE wrote.  

“In this regard, OCR found that the District did not assess fully whether there were workable race-neutral alternatives; and it did not conduct a flexible and individualized review of potential participants. While the assembly itself was of short duration, at the time the assembly was held, the District was considering scheduling additional racially exclusive assemblies for other groups.”

The school notes it is in compliance with Title IX on its website.

“Respect for the rights of others encourages understanding and interaction necessary to good citizenship. There shall be no discrimination against any individual because of race, religion, nationality, gender, disability, physical characteristics or sexual orientation,” the school’s website reads. 

Its compliance officer is Janel Bishop.