Five brave Black students, along with their mothers, have filed a federal lawsuit against both the Floyd County School district and Coosa High School on grounds of alleged racial discrimination, as reported by the Associated Press. The students allege that the school, located in Rome, Georgia, is violating their First Amendment rights, as well as their equal protection rights, including by acting with “deliberate indifference” to “acts of racial animosity” toward Black students by white students and teachers, as well as the school’s dress code and disciplinary policies.
Before we get into the details, it’s important to remember that according to 2018-2019 data, the school district is more than three-quarters white and 7 percent Black, as highlighted by CNN. It’s also located in the part of Georgia that elected the QAnon Congresswoman, Marjorie Taylor Greene, to represent the state. With that in mind, let’s get into the details of the suit (which are deeply disturbing), and what students are doing to speak out in defense of their basic rights and humanity now.
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"The Plaintiffs, who are African-American, challenge Coosa High's deliberate indifference to acts of racial animosity toward Black students perpetrated by White students and teachers,” the lawsuit says in part. “As well as the school's viewpoint discrimination in its dress code and the inconsistent administration of disciplinary policies to the detriment of Black students.”
According to the suit, there are some seriously disturbing acts of racism and discrimination that need to be addressed. For example, the suit alleges that a student addressed Black peers as “slaves” and wore a Confederate flag belt. The suit alleges that a number of white students have repeatedly used the N-word slur. Another white student allegedly carried what appeared to be a whip and told Black students “we used to whip you.” Students allege that students in the school in the school also reenacted George Floyd’s death and posted it on social media.
If you’re thinking, Surely the Confederate belt should have been grounds for immediate expulsion, you’re mistaken because according to the suit, the dress code allows Confederate flag-themed clothing.
It does not, however, permit any Black Lives Matter apparel. Yes, really.
Students have already been suspended from school after holding silent and peaceful protests during class breaks to raise awareness. One unnamed student who spoke to local outlet Fox 5 Atlanta said that whenever they spoke up, they would be told they were trying to “make everything about race.”
Protesting students were also told they were not allowed to wear shirts that read “I love the skin I’m in #Melanin” and had to turn them inside out. If they wore them anyway? Suspension.
Students wanted to protest the dress code that allowed their peers to wear the Confederate flag to school, including carrying the flag during a Spirit Week in October 2021 but were allegedly told by the principal that students could be jailed for “instigating a riot,” and said any students with even a flyer advertising the protest in their possession would be disciplined.
The suit alleges that four of the plaintiffs who were involved in organizing the protest were suspended from school for five days, but organizers who were not Black did not face any disciplinary action.
"We're not just talking about Coosa High School," attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan, who is running for attorney general in Massachusetts, said according to FOX 5. "This case could be prescient for schools across the country, because we are committed to ensuring that our public schools are a safe and inviting place for people of any race and background."
Ultimately, plaintiffs want to see the school district stop punishing students because of their speech. They also want to remove past disciplinary punishments from school records.
You can catch some local footage from organizers and protesters below.