Sarah Ford | July 8, 2014

Schoolhouse lessons confront small-town racism

Dayton is a picturesque little burg tucked in the southeastern corner of Washington state. With just over 1,000 families, it is 93 percent white.

When racist incidents began last fall, one after another, the community became nervous. No one was more unsettled than Dayton School District Superintendent Douglas Johnson. The people on his campuses were directly affected by the threat.

Early one morning last November, just as students were settling into the routine of a new academic year, a teacher found a swastika burning on the grass outside Dayton Elementary School. That came a week after Halloween, when  another teacher, who is African American, had three trick-or-treaters come to his door dressed as members of the Ku Klux Klan. At least one was a student in Johnson’s district.

Then, less than three weeks later, someone posted a threatening note at the entry to Dayton High, forcing a two-hour delay in school. The threat added to the fear that was building in Dayton.

Johnson knew he had to address the racism and help his students explore issues of diversity.

>> Continue Reading

Get Resources and Insights Straight To Your Inbox

Explore More Articles

Workplace Fundraising + Volunteering Summit (April 2nd and 3rd, 2025)

March 26, 2025

Join us in attending this virtual summit! The America’s Charities team is joining up with other leading voices in the workplace giving space for a…

Read Article

The Time to Act is Now

March 7, 2025

The results of the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are in, and the findings are, in a word, heartbreaking. This assessment serves as…

Read Article

Open Position:  Non-Profit Account Manager, Employee Assistance Funds & Scholarships (Remote – Full Time)

February 20, 2025

We are professional, agile, customer-centric and our goal is to inspire employees and organizations to support causes they care about. We help nonprofits fundraise unrestricted,…

Read Article

Get Resources and Insights Straight To Your Inbox

Receive our monthly/bi-monthly newsletter filled with information about causes, nonprofit impact, and topics important for corporate social responsibility and employee engagement professionals, including disaster response, workplace giving, matching gifts, employee assistance funds, volunteering, scholarship award program management, grantmaking, and other philanthropic initiatives.

newsletter-mock