A Black student in a Texas high school is afraid to return to school after reading racist messages in a group chat from her classmates. The school district promised to take immediate action, as one of the messages read “All N—s must hang.”
According to the East Bernard Independent School District’s website, the thread was created by students on Monday, Dec. 6, and contained hurtful “racist hate speech.”
By the end of the day, screenshots of the messages had been circulated throughout the community in the Houston exurb and made their way to the district’s review. Immediately, the school district took disciplinary action against students involved in the group chat and the racist hate speech.
“Students involved with the group chat and racist hate speech are receiving disciplinary measures in accordance with the student code of conduct. These measures are confidential,” Courtney Hudgins, the superintendent, wrote in a letter about the incident.
The district also provided security and counseling services the following day for Black students impacted by the messages.
One student who saw the messages was 16-year-old, Tyra, ABC 13 reports. She shared that a first-hand witness showed her a screenshot of the chat and it made her nervous.
“I was at the lunch table and my friend showed me. She was in the group chat and saw everything going on. It was supposed to be about prom, but it just ended up being racist.”
Tyra shared that a few of the offensive statements that she read were “No Black people” and “All N—s must hang.”
“I just feel uncomfortable being there now because that’s a threat,” Tyra continued. “I just don’t want to go to that school anymore.”
The messages were also shared with parents. Tyra’s mom, Tiffany Seydler told the station that she “couldn’t believe it,” and said that her “stomach dropped” when she read the messages.
“She’s supposed to go to school to learn. Not be afraid to go to school, because they’re talking about hanging (expletive). You know that that’s a huge threat!” the teen’s mother stated.
Tyra told the station that she stayed out of school out of fear of an apparent newfound of her white schoolmates at the school, where African-Americans are just 5 percent of the student body.
The district’s superintendent affirmed, “EBISD does not condone these students’ actions or any other discriminatory remarks, threats, or behaviors, nor shall students or staff discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, nationality, or disability.”
Hudgins has urged that parents, staff, and students work together to fix the school’s sense of “unity.”
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