Greendale community responds to racist graffiti at school

GREENDALE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- It's been a challenging year at Greendale High School, from students saying the use of the n-word makes them feel unsafe, to a video of a student repeating racial slurs circulating around the school.

"We need to make sure that students of color aren't assaulted by this language on a daily basis," said Greendale parent Nat Godley.

Parents like Godley formed the group "Parents Advocating for Greendale Equity" (PAGE) to try and combat racism.

"We're trying to draw attention to it," Godley said. "Trying to uplift the students who are working against it."

The Greendale School District held meetings, and last week introduced the district's action plan to challenge discrimination.

But a couple days later, a new picture surfaced of graffiti on a bathroom wall.

"It said n-words not allowed," Godley said. "Also some smaller graffiti underneath it that made other negative racist comments."

The district sent a letter to parents Friday saying in part, "the community must know that racist comments and hate speech will not be tolerated in our schools."

But Godley says it's a bad sign that letter came after students shared the photo on social media and it reached the news.

"It's really concerning. It seems to confirm that lack of urgency that the district seems to show toward this."