Wake schools denounce ‘vile’ remarks made by students and staff about Floyd protests
The Wake County school system is taking disciplinary action against some students and staff members for what it calls their “racist, vile, and thoughtless statements” made on social media about the ongoing protests over the death of George Floyd.
Protests have been held across the nation, including in Raleigh and Durham, about Floyd’s death at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis.
Wake Superintendent Cathy Moore and school board chairman Keith Sutton said in a statement on Monday that some school system employees and students “aggravated and trivialized the emotions felt by many across the nation, particularly members of the African American community, by making racist, vile, and thoughtless statements on social media.”
“The senseless deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and most recently, George Floyd have given rise to some of the country’s deepest forms of anguish, fear, sadness and outrage,” they wrote.
“To be sure, the racist actions of a few do not define our school system,” they said. “However, we cannot be silent in the face of racism in our community or beyond. Our Core Beliefs compel us to see, to understand and to interrupt racism in all its forms.”
Lisa Luten, a Wake school spokeswoman, said the district has been made aware of multiple incidents of students making inappropriate statements over the weekend and on Monday. She says students will be disciplined according to district policies but that she can’t go into specifics due to student confidentiality rules.
Bus driver suspended for comments
School officials also have received complaints about a school bus driver whose Facebook account said that police should “Have the fire department turn on the water. Watch them run.”
Luten said the driver, identified by school officials as Sandra Lineberry, is suspended with pay while the district reviews the matter. Lineberry did not respond to a message on Facebook from The News & Observer requesting comment. On Monday, the Facebook page appeared to have been taken down.
What started as peaceful protests Saturday and Sunday ended in broken windows, stolen or destroyed property and local police officers using tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. It resulted in Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin imposing Monday a citywide curfew that runs from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.
In their statement, Moore and Sutton said educators and families need to work to “create a way forward in dismantling racism and other negative influences that affect our school community and nation.
“We encourage each of you to use this moment in history to strengthen your commitment to achieving racial equity,” the statement continues. “This means working to address the injustices that exist beyond education by the conversations we have with others, by speaking up when we see hate, by supporting efforts that oppose racism and oppression, and by directly engaging in advocacy work.”
This story was originally published June 1, 2020 at 7:09 PM.
