CALDWELL, Idaho — A Brown Pride protest in the Caldwell School District continues to receive attention across the region. We spoke to community leaders about the incident and what comes next for students.
“It's not just with Caldwell High, it's with a lot of these different schools; there is just so much stuff that is going on, a lot of racial profiling, I believe that are injustices,” said Sunny Ligas, State Director.
The brown pride protest organized by Caldwell High School students began Tuesday morning after a student was dress coded for wearing a Brown Pride hoodie.
It’s generated a conversation within the community that continued Thursday night during a listening session by ACLU Idaho. There, parents and students who identify as Latinx, sought professional guidance about incidents they say are happening across the Treasure Valley public school system.
“Unfortunately and sadly, it's things that we have been hearing for a while. Concerns from parents and students, and even community advocates that have come to us and told us about their experience of racism, discrimination, discipline in the classroom,” said Erica Rodarte, Legal Fellow for ACLU Idaho.
I reached out to Euler Torres, Northwest Vice President for the League of United Latin American Citizens, who tells me they are continuing to assess the incidents that allegedly transpired between staff and students on the day of the protest.
Torres states it has sparked a movement across the states, and the local Latinx community is now speaking out.
“It is a movement of our community just saying we are here, we are here to work, we are good people, you might not like how we dress or look, but we are not here to cause trouble,” said Torres.
Brenda Torres, the student dress coded for wearing the Brown Pride hoodie, tells me she and her classmates just want a resolution to this. They plan to attend the next Caldwell School District School Board meeting to continue the conversation and hopefully come to an agreeable conclusion.
