Black Leaders Asked SFUSD Four Things About the N-Word. Here’s Where It Stands.

A Black student at Lincoln High was called the slur in a hallway in September. Civil rights leaders went to district headquarters with demands. The district’s public answers have been general, and families are watching what comes next.

SAN FRANCISCO — On Sept. 4, in a hallway at Lincoln High School, a Black student was called the N-word by a classmate during passing period. Words turned into a fight. Video of the hallway later aired on local television.

Classmates said it wasn’t the first time. The same student had used the slur the year before, they said, and when they asked administrators to step in, nothing happened, according to SFist.

Lincoln’s administrators later emailed families to acknowledge “multiple instances of hate speech” on campus.

On Sept. 30, Black leaders stood outside the San Francisco Unified School District’s headquarters and asked what the district was going to do about it.

“A Recurring Problem”

The San Francisco NAACP and Coleman Advocates for Youth Justice called the press conference with students, parents and community members.

The Rev. Amos C. Brown said the N-word has become a recurring problem in San Francisco schools, from elementary through high school, SFist reported. He said the district was too slow to respond, called Lincoln’s letter to families too general, and asked whether any student had been disciplined.

The group put four demands on the table:

• Superintendent Maria Su should tell every principal and assistant superintendent that the N-word is never acceptable in district schools.
• The district should hold students accountable when racist language or behavior happens on campus.
• SFUSD should track these incidents, including where they happen and how they are resolved.
• A student-led “Unity Day” should be held at every school.

“We should not have to sue the school district for our children to thrive,” Virginia Marshall of the NAACP said, according to KQED. The San Francisco NAACP sued the district over racial discrimination and segregated schools in 1979, a case that led to a consent decree.

Not the Only Campus

Lincoln is not the only school where it has happened.

At Lowell High School, the district removed the varsity baseball coaching staff after reports that players used race-based taunts during a 2025 junior varsity championship game against Lincoln. The coaches have been on leave since May, and the team will forfeit three games next spring, according to SFist and KQED.

What the District Has Said

In September, SFUSD said it does “not accept behavior of this kind anywhere at SFUSD.” The district said leaders were meeting with the families involved and with community groups, including the NAACP, and were using restorative practices with the students directly affected.

The district’s public statements have not said whether any student was disciplined, whether the superintendent has issued the directive the NAACP asked for, or whether the district has begun tracking incidents.

The Question That Remains

For Black families in San Francisco, the question hasn’t changed since Sept. 30. It isn’t whether the district is against hate speech. Everybody is against hate speech. The question is what happens the next time a Black child hears that word in a hallway, and whether anybody does something about it.

The Sun-Reporter does not name minors involved in school incidents. This story draws on reporting by SFist, KQED and NBC Bay Area.

Photo: The San Francisco Unified School District building. Photo by Ciphers via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.