“For sure in this township … if it was Blacks that did this there would be no hesitation … they would already at DCP (Dauphin County Prison).”

That’s only one of a slew of angry comments on social media following the death of 16-year-old Justin Johnson. It’s reminding many of the senseless deaths of Black people like George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Emmett Till; except this time, police or vigilantes didn’t do the dirty work. Many believe the systemic racism permeating our schools did.

Online comments suggest Justin was trying to make friends to join the football team. It may have cost him his life.

“THIS IS NOT HAZING, ITS A HATE CRIME,” one person wrote, in all caps, on the Facebook page of Matt Moyer’s Channel 5 Ratchet News. If it weren’t for Ratchet News, the horrors surrounding Justin’s death may never have come to light. Thousands of people across the nation are now aware of what happened to Justin, thanks to Ratchet News.

The video Ratchet News circulated of Justin’s last hours is disturbing, to say the least. It shows several white boys chasing him through a Lower Paxton Township neighborhood. It showed how Justin lost his life.

“Where did he go” one of the chasers is heard yelling on the video. “He went to (expletive) Africa.”

The comments about the video on social media reflect the outrage many African Americans in our community are feeling right now. Another Black youth is dead. Parents are mourning. Police say they are investigating, and suggest Justin was playing a game of tag with the other boys. The coroner declared Justin died of natural causes. And no one has been arrested.

From the comments on social media, many people don’t believe justice ever will prevail in Justin’s death without significant community pressure. Many believe his death is just the latest sign of persistent racism that has hurt far too many Black youth in our region.

“This was no mistake and above all it was not hazing … this was a criminal act … and if Black children would have done this to the new white child in town it would be considered criminal … please do not try to Minimize this Major Unacceptable Unnecessary Loss,” one person wrote.”

It is troubling enough to read comment after comment expressing doubts that local authorities will treat Johnson’s death as seriously as they would a white youth who died under similar circumstance. But what is worse are the repeated comments that attest to a culture of racism and harassment at Central Dauphin High School and others in Central Pennsylvania.

Here’s a sampling of other comments:

• “I am absolutely heartbroken and sickened about this. But I have a feeling with all the cover ups and BS that happens at the highest levels of the area, these bullies will get off with no consequences.”

• “I am not surprised at this one bit! CD has not changed. People just brush these incidents under the rug because it’s CD. White Power is alive and well and the “n” word is used regularly and often at the school. The kids get a slap on the wrist; a day off from school and are allowed to return with no consequences. Money talks and who you know is important.”

•“I was bullied and hazed my whole middle and high school life cause I was the only Black kid.”

•“I’ve been trying to tell y’all for years that Central Dauphin is full of hate … my daughter was going to Linglestown Middle, and her experience was horrific of all the racism from these kids … BLAME THE PARENTS because it’s being taught.”

In addition to the comments on social media are the testimonies of many Black parents who say their children have suffered racist bullying not only at Central Dauphin, but at schools throughout the region. They say it’s only gotten worse in recent years.

PennLive recently reported on a Black student at Lower Dauphin High School who was subjected to racist bullying for months. His parents, both educated and well-paid professionals, ended up selling their beautiful home and moving to Maryland, where they were able to find a community a bit more enlightened than what they found in Central Pennsylvania. What a shame.

Our region is losing the best and brightest because of persistent racism that drives out the very people we need to expand our economy and attract business. If we don’t deal with the issue of pervasive racism in our region, we risk being branded as a backward, racist wasteland many already dismiss as Pennsyltucky.

Thankfully, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission is treating Justin’s death with the seriousness it deserves. “This was more than a tragic incident,” Executive Director Chad Dion Lassiter said. “We must move beyond looking at preexisting conditions as examples to these types of deaths and address the racial hostility” that many fear was involved.

The death of Justin Johnson compels us to call on local and state authorities to take concrete steps to reassure Black parents their children are safe in Central Pennsylvania schools. If they are unable to do so, federal agencies must step in now.

Joyce M. Davis is outreach and opinion editor at PennLive.

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