Chicago principal refuses to share cruise with black students

Jet, June 30, 1997

When two Chicago middle schools recently booked cruises on a Chicago boat for the same day, the principal from one school -- a largely Hispanic school -- refused to allow the students from the other school -- a largely Black school -- to board the ship.

A group of eighth-graders from Brown Elementary, the Black school, were left standing on the dock in tears when the principal of Logandale Middle School insisted that the students not ride on the same boat because he reportedly was concerned about potential gang problems.

Both schools had booked cruises for their eighth-grade graduation luncheons.

Chicago Schools Chief Executive Officer Paul Vallas said the decision to keep the Brown Elementary students off the Spirit of Chicago boat was a "bonehead decision."

"It's very insulting for one of our schools to be treated that way, not only by a private company but by the education leader of one of our schools,' Vallas said in the Chicago Sun-Times.

Logandale Principal Luis Molina refused to sail with the 41 students from Brown even if they were placed on separate levels, Spirit of Chicago officials said. The Logandale party had 157 students.

After he was questioned about the incident, Molina agreed to apologize in person to Brown Elementary and to write the school an apology, Vallas said.

Vallas also sent a memo to all 557 Chicago public schools advising them not to book cruises on the boat and to cancel upcoming excursions. He said he plans to file a complaint against the cruise boat with the city's Human Rights Commission.

A Logandale teacher present on the trip said while the incident appeared to be racially motivated, it wasn't; it was motivated by safety concerns. Molina reportedly told Schools and Regions Chief Blondean Davis that he had "40 gang members" in his own party, and he was worried that there might be problems even if the two schools were separated. The Logandale teacher said she saw Brown students flashing gang signals from the dock after Logandale students had boarded.

The Brown class valedictorian said the only gang activity she saw was by a Logandale student who was pounding on the boat's window to find out the gang affiliation of a Brown student on the dock.

The Brown students' money was refunded, and they were treated to lunch at a cafe and tickets on a Ferris wheel ride.

In addition, the students got their cruise after all. TV talk show host Geraldo Rivera, who was in the area and had rented a cruise boat, stepped in and gave them a free ride.