Law firm will investigate charges that Black students were racially bullied at NC school
The Johnston County school system will have its law firm investigate conditions at Princeton High School after some Black students complained about being racially bullied and harassed.
Some Black students at Princeton High have publicly talked about white classmates calling them the N-word, telling them to pick cotton and threatening to beat them up. In response, school board chairman Todd Sutton announced that Tharrington Smith, the district’s law firm, will conduct its own investigation at the joint campus shared by Princeton High and Princeton Middle schools.
“The Board of Education will not tolerate racist bullying or harassment in our schools,” Sutton said at this week’s board meeting. “Our school administration has reviewed the most recent reports of racist harassment at Princeton Middle/High.
“However, to make sure that we understand how students have been treated at Princeton, we have asked our law firm for a broader investigation into the school environment and for recommendations on how to ensure a positive school environment for all students and staff.”
Sutton added that they “are appreciative of our administrative team at Princeton Middle/High and the work that they do on a daily basis.”
The new investigation was welcomed by Angelique Legette, president of the African American Caucus of the Johnston County Democratic Party. In October, her group and the Johnston County NAACP called for a “meaningful review of Johnston County Public Schools’ policies relating to racism and bullying.”
“We are pleased to hear that the Johnston County Board of Education is taking the step to investigate this matter,” Legette said in a statement. “We stand by patiently awaiting the results of the investigation and the information that will be released from that report.”
Black students told to pick cotton
Concerns about racially motivated bullying first became public in late October after videos emerged of white students at Princeton High taunting Black classmates with “Trump 2024” and “Blue Lives Matter” flags. Since then, other videos have appeared on social media of white students at several Johnston County schools using the N-word and other racial epithets.
Until recently, Brooklyn Edwards was a 15-year-old sophomore at Princeton High, about 40 miles east of Raleigh. She spoke at a November school board meeting about being called the N-word and a monkey multiple times by white students. She said white students have also told her she should kill herself so she could be reborn as a white girl.
In one example, Edwards said a white student called her the N-word before taking cotton out of his pocket and dropping it to the ground. He then told her to pick it up.
Other speakers at the board meeting talked about how the school’s teachers treat Black students more harshly than white students.
Kaiulani Moses, Edwards’ mother, links the bullying to the recent policy passed by the school board that puts new rules in place on how teachers can discuss history and race. For instance, the policy says teachers cannot teach that racism is a permanent component of American life.
“It has made these children and some personnel and administrators at this school feel protected,” Moses said in an interview with NBC News.
The Johnston County Board of Commissioners had withheld $7.9 million in funding until the school board passed a policy preventing what it called Critical Race Theory from being taught.
Taking racism complaints seriously
Sutton said at this week’s board meeting that “we have heard the concern brought before us by several members of the Princeton community.” He said their goal is to provide a safe and harmonious place for all staff and students.
“Our school administrators thoroughly investigate any incident that is reported on our campuses,” Sutton said. “Johnston County Public Schools has a very close working relationship with our law enforcement, and we involve them in an investigation anytime it is deemed necessary.
“In most instances, these investigations could involve student discipline or confidential information pertaining to our students and will not be shared publicly.”
Sutton urged students to report anything that makes them feel uncomfortable while in a school setting. This includes using anonymous reporting systems that are available.
“Please hear us in saying that we take all allegations of racism, harassment, and bullying occurring in our schools seriously,” Sutton said.
Providing solutions to the racism problems
Tharrington Smith, Johnston’s law firm, works with school districts across the state, including Wake County.
“We expect a thorough investigation by the law firm,” said Legette of the African American Caucus of the Johnston County Democratic Party. “Their law firm has numerous school districts as clients, and we believe they can provide solutions in the form of training, appropriate disciplinary actions, and counseling for those affected.”
Legette said Johnston County, which is North Carolina’s seventh-largest school system with 37,000 students, needs to make sure that all its students are being protected and are getting equal treatment.
“We want our children in a safe and secure environment so they can learn and grow to contribute to society,” Legette said. “ We need our children’s mental health to be protected, and these incidents are taking a toll on our children.”
This story was originally published December 17, 2021 at 11:20 AM.
