Anchorage Daily News

Prominently displayed in a glass case outside the Service High School library is a statement typed in big, bold letters:

"The best way to hide something from black people is to put it in a book."

A group of black students who call themselves Beautiful Colors put it up to spark conversation in a high school that has seen its student population go from predominantly white to nearly half minority within the past decade.

It has sparked more than conversation.

It is stirring up passions about blacks failing in school and raising questions among black kids about where provocation for thought ends and racism begins. Parents have called the school. Teachers have set aside class time to talk about it. And principal Lou Pondolfino called a special public meeting to discuss it.

Senior Alexander Shaw is surprised at the reaction.

"I wanted to challenge people to break the mold and evoke change," said the self-described Filipino, Puerto Rican and black 18-year-old, who, with the group, put it up as part of a Black History Month display. Somebody showed him the quote from the Internet. It has variously been attributed to white supremacists, black activists and comedians.

Shaw defends the statement by pointing to the statistics: Last year, while blacks made up the smallest minority group at Service, they had the highest dropout rate of any ethnic group, nearly double the average, according to the school.

"This is a challenge. Let's better ourselves," Shaw said.

Some white kids, black kids, other minorities and their parents want the words taken down though.

The discussion and feeling roused this week prompted principal Pondolfino to hold the special forum.

"The statement is racist and propagating stereotypes," said parent Nicole Howell at the gathering of 50 people in the school's library on Friday.

Reyonna Sudduth, who is part of Beautiful Colors, said she's glad the display has caused a commotion. She wants black kids to be motivated to prove the statement incorrect.

Shaw agrees. "If one person tells me 'I picked up a book to prove that quote wrong,' it will make it worth it."

But fellow students challenge: Does a derogatory statement motivate students to change?

Service High School sits in the mostly Caucasian and well-to-do Hillside neighborhoods in South Anchorage. It used to be largely a white school until South Anchorage High School was built nearby and the public school boundaries were redrawn, bringing in more racially and economically diverse students from East Anchorage neighborhoods. Now the school is 45 percent minority, according to last year's numbers.

Vonda Roark-Martinez, the faculty adviser to the Beautiful Colors group, said there is no racial tension at the school. If there was, she wouldn't have allowed the kids to put it up.

Senior Marcus Lowe, who is black, was at first shocked at the words he saw on display, he told the crowd gathered at the library. Then he thought about it more. "We're in desperate times right now," he said. "There's a big problem in the African-American community where it's cool to be dumb."

He supports keeping it up, "If this is what we have to do to get people's attention."

Principal Pondolfino says there are no plans to take the statement down and applauds the kids' efforts to make a difference.

Find Megan Holland online at adn.com/contact/mholland or call 257-4343.

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