On Thursday, Nov. 21, more than 100 community members gathered to discuss racial issues and implicit bias. With two sessions held at 9 a.m. at the Municipal Center and 7 p.m. at Naperville North, parents and students were able to share personal experiences with racism.

The Focus 203 session, held by Naperville School District 203, had been planned weeks prior to the racial incident that recently occurred in which a student listed an African-American student on Craigslist with the caption “Slave for Sale (Naperville).” However, the sessions ended up being partially focused on the preceding racial incident. 

Rakeda Leaks, the district’s Executive Director of Diversity and Inclusion, helped to lead the sessions by prompting parents to ask if they talk to and educate their children on racism. The information gained from these sessions will help to plan future Focus 203 sessions and encourage the school board to create new goals to address these issues.