Two Black people are suing their former high school in New Jersey, alleging “extreme, egregious, widespread” racism.
According to Atlanta Black Star, two former students of North Warren Regional High School filed a lawsuit on allegations of racism, hostility, and discrimination.
The plaintiffs are a Black woman and a man who were enrolled in the school in 2016 and 2018, respectively. Both former students were repeatedly called the N-word and other slurs by their peers and allege instances of racism went unchecked by school administrators.
According to the lawsuit, a white male student once grabbed the Black woman’s backpack strings in the hallway and said: “Look, I have a slave on a leash.” The Black male plaintiff alleged a white student called him a “slave” and whipped him with a belt while he was changing in a locker room in October 2018.
Later that year, students allegedly approached the Black male and showed him a poster, asking him to join the KKK, which they dubbed the “Kool Kids Klub.” The Black male plaintiff also claimed his teammates on the school’s wrestling team repeatedly called him slurs in front of the coach and other faculty members.
The Black female student considered withdrawal from the school in 2020 but stayed enrolled after the COVID-19 pandemic shifted classes online. The Black male quit the school’s wrestling team and withdrew from the school in 2022 after his mother filed an HIB (Harassment, Intimidation, Bullying) complaint.
Sarah Bilotti, the district’s then-superintendent, later said six students were suspended for violating the school’s HIB rules. The student’s mother then met with school administrators and requested they put in place a plan to prevent racist bullying at the school.
The school’s then-principal, Jeanene Dutt, allegedly said “No.”
In response to the lawsuit, Dutt, who is now the superintendent of the North Warren Regional School District, said in a statement: “[O]ut of respect for the confidentiality rights of the students, we are not at liberty to comment in the press beyond stating that we respectfully disagree with the claims and look forward to defending against them in court.”
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