Denver Elementary Students Suffer Racist Slurs During City Council Meeting

Two young Black girls went before Denver City Council to ask for help for their school. Instead, they became the victims of a racist tirade.

Fourth- and fifth-grade students from Monarch Montessori spoke during the council's weekly public comment session on Monday, May 13, requesting assistance in getting a yurt for their school. But less than a minute into their testimony, a voice from the online Zoom shouted at the girls to "go back to fucking Africa," followed by a series of insults and racial slurs.

Council staff unsuccessfully tried to mute the anonymous speaker, but the racist rant continued for around thirty seconds, with the female-sounding voice repeatedly calling the children the N-word before the Zoom was eventually disconnected.

"The words were vile, as was the character of a person who would actively seek to say these words to two beautiful and courageous young girls," Council President Jamie Torres said in a statement issued the day after the meeting. "These youth gathered the bravery to bring their voices to their city council representatives to improve their school and community. We honor and praise these two young voices and condemn anyone who would attack them and any other member of our community." 

The fifth-grader was left in tears and unable to continue her speech after the racist diatribe. The fourth-grader started her testimony over, repeating her plea for a yurt, which the school would use as additional classroom space. She told councilmembers that her school has struggled to obtain the necessary building permits for the yurt.

"We need space because our school is growing," she said during the meeting. "We had to exclude some people from the kindergarten because we didn't have large enough classrooms."

The chamber applauded the girls when their testimony concluded, and Torres apologized for their experience. "Everyone in this room is a support system, and we would never acknowledge or authorize that kind of language in this chamber," she said. "Thank you very much for being here, and we hope you come back."

After the meeting, a few of the councilmembers and Denver City Council Executive Director Bonita Roznos met with the girls and their families "at length," says Robert Austin, the council's spokesperson. They also interviewed the girls about their request for a school yurt.

"I’m not sure what the council can or will do regarding a yurt, but efficiency in the permitting process has been something the council has repeatedly asked of the administration in a variety of forums," Austin says. "Personally, I think a yurt would be super cool."

Councilmember Shontel Lewis was more explicit with her support for the girls' request: "Better believe we’re gonna get these kids their yurt," she posted on X Monday evening.

Council has referred to the incident as a "breach" in the Zoom. Typically, audience members who watch the public sessions over Zoom are muted and unable to speak until it is their turn to comment. The council's administrative staff and the Denver Office of Technology Services are reviewing logs and procedures to determine how the breach occurred, according to a statement from council.

"I can say that several attempts were made to mute the speaker before the event producer ejected them from the Zoom session," Austin says. "We are working with Technology Services and the Channel 8 crew to determine what exactly happened and how to prevent it going forward."

The name that appeared on the Zoom screen connected to the racist attacks was Charla Nash — though Austin says they don't believe that is the speaker's real name, as that is the name of a woman who was infamously mauled by a chimpanzee in 2009. The speaker was not registered to testify during public comment nor any of the council hearings that night, Austin says.

This incident occurred as city councils across Colorado and the United States have grappled with hate speech during remote public comment sessions. Lakewood and Castle Rock have limited or eliminated remote testimony options because of similar racist and anti-Semitic attacks.

Denver has expanded its public comment sessions in recent years, changing its rules to prioritize first-time speakers and people under the age of eighteen, like the two young girls who spoke on Monday. That same evening, councilmembers voted to increase the times residents can sign up to participate in public comment.

"That they had to endure these racist actions and words in our chamber brings us pain," Torres says. "The Denver City Council condemns any hate speech and wants those responsible to know it only serves to motivate us on city council, two of whom are African-American, six of whom are Latina, and all of whom will continue to serve proudly as anti-racist council and community members."

Monarch Montessori Executive Director Laura Pretty says this was the first time the school had organized students to speak at city council. It was part of an effort to "raise up student voices," as the girls are members of a group forming the student leadership committee. The students chose what they wanted to testify to the council about, and Pretty was present at the meeting with the girls' teacher and another school director. 

Two other students were also signed up to speak on Monday, to advocate for safe crossing areas around the school. They were not able to comment during the public meeting because of the racist incident, but Pretty says councilmembers let all four of the students present their speeches in private afterward.

"I couldn't believe that happened. I wish I could make sure something like that wouldn't happen again," Pretty says. "I was so proud of the girls for the work they did to prepare and to go before the City Council to speak. To have something like that happen, it worries me that it could scare a young person away from engaging in democratic systems and using their voice to advocate for things that they care about."

Pretty says the school is working with the council and school board on an event to "celebrate how brave the kids were" to try to salvage the experience for the children. She says the girls are doing okay and have received a lot of support from their parents, teachers and the councilmembers.

Despite the setback, Pretty says the school will continue to encourage students to participate in local government via future public comment sessions.

"We need to make sure we do it again," Pretty says. "I don't want them to think that it is unsafe to speak up."

This article was updated at 3:15 on Tuesday, May 14, to include comments from Monarch Montessori Executive Director Laura Pretty.