Racism Scandal Fallout: Summit Christian Academy President’s Response Exemplifies Everything Wrong with the School

In a recent communication to the Summit Christian Academy community, the Head of School, Chris Hahn, addressed The Defender’s recent bombshell investigation, laying bare the school’s approach to a toxic and racist culture that has, rightly, caused public outrage.

His response (the rest is provided towards the end of this piece), while veiled in administrative concern, was a masterclass in obfuscation and whataboutism, skillfully avoiding the heart of the matter: the unchecked racial and homophobic terror within his school’s walls.

The email, replete with scripture and spiritual platitudes, sidesteps the central issue. He reduces the incident to an “innappropriate/racial comment,” diluting the toxic, violent nature of hate speech, and minimizing it to a palatable euphemism that evades the weight of the offense. 

Using the N word is hate speech, period. To describe it as an “innappropriate” comment, means he himself has little understanding of race, history, and the severity and violence of such language. If in his crisis response public relations statement he is unable to adequately confront such an issue, what would lead anyone to believe he is capable of effectively addressing it in private? There is simply no possibility that an individual with such ignorance on matters of race can effectively create an environment that is safe for Black children.

One SCA alumni, in response to our story, told The Defender;

“students have been trying to hold SCA accountable for years and if they need something to jog their memory just check the inbox of every administrator. You’ll find the unread emails I sent when I was a student, begging for them to hold students sending me death threats accountable for their actions. I spent high school being so afraid because every day was another fight with the administration to be taken seriously.”

Such a racist and toxic environment is not only hurtful, it can be dangerously lethal. This is especially true at a time when Black youth suicide rates are higher than they’ve ever been and suicide rates of Black youth ages 10 to 19 increased 54% since 2018. One of the prominent factors contributing to such spikes in Black youth suicidal behaviors is racial discrimination and racial trauma.

In Hahn’s email he claims he “emphatically disagrees” with the widespread belief among students that the daughter of the girl in the video receives preferential treatment because her mother is on the school board, but he offers zero evidence to disprove why students feel this way. 

He says that “the real question at hand is – does SCA have a race problem.”

The questions we should be asking are “is the schools existing leadership even capable of such change,” and “when will they move beyond the facade of self-examination to implement a robust, transparent, and actionable plan that addresses the pervasive and persistent racism that the testimonies of students and alumni lay bare.” 

More importantly, the community deserves more than questions—they deserve action, change, and a commitment to transformation that goes beyond mere words.

The President’s email, with its lamentations over ‘tough weeks of ministry’, fails to grasp the perpetual state of siege Black students endure within such environments. What he characterizes as ‘tough weeks’ are, for many, the realities of a lifetime.

The school’s response to the incident, and now to our reporting, underscores a systemic unwillingness to confront the malignant racism that festers within its community. It is not enough to claim high expectations while excusing the lowest forms of behavior. It is not enough to preach reconciliation without the necessary work of repentance, which must begin with acknowledgement and action.

The Defender will not be swayed by attempts to discredit our work or to silence the voices we represent. We remain steadfast in our mission to illuminate injustice and to amplify those voices that the school would rather mute. It’s not just our responsibility; it’s our mandate.

Below I want to provide only a small few of the horrifying testimonies we have received from students and alumni of the school describing the terror, dehumanization and white supremacist extremist ideologies that are normalized within school walls. 

“As a former parent who had black sons attend SCA I can tell you this is nothing new. When my boys attended there one of the students wrote the ‘N’ word very large on the wall. Let’s just say all they did was hold an assembly to address it. Student Racism has been an ongoing problem for years! Definitely bring attention to this matter.”

“Graduated in 2021, this same exact thing happened to me on 2 different occasions and to some other black students as well. No one believed us nothing happened to the students that committed these acts. Seemed like we got treated worse after everything that went down. I felt very uncomfortable here and even had thoughts about unenrolling in the school. Not surprised here at all! Quite frankly I don’t think nothing will be done.”

“I attended this school from 1st grade to 8th grade. Let me tell you…I believe EVERY SINGLE ACCUSATION…the racism and bigotry was on 1,000!”

I’m not surprised. I was bullied relentlessly for being gay and nobody did a thing to help when reported, so I’m not shocked. Funny how they say they operate in a “Christ-like” way when that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“as a former student who left dude to bullying sounds about right.”

“I went to this school a few years back for my seventh grade year, it was horrible. As a black girl I was constantly teased and called so many slurs it was hurtful.”

Read the rest of the President’s Response Below;

This is a developing story.

The post Racism Scandal Fallout: Summit Christian Academy President’s Response Exemplifies Everything Wrong with the School appeared first on Kansas City Defender.