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A 50-page civil rights lawsuit has been filed by six current and former students of Chaska High school in Minnesota who allege that school officials tolerated a persistent pattern of racist bullying against them.
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No one helped the Black students, the lawsuit claims, who were targeted by some white students at Chaska High School in Minnesota who went to great lengths to ostracize Blacks, Yahoo reports.
White students reportedly wore Blackface on several occasions, especially at school football games, one vandalized a shirt of a Black student with the n-word and others made blatant threats.
One student reportedly posted to Snapchat with a gun saying he would shoot a list of students who attended a seminar on race relations at the school. In April, white students also posted pictures of the faces of 25 Black students on Snapchat calling a location on a Google map, “Negro Hill.”
The lawsuit claims the school district “turned a blind eye” even as Black students were called the n-word, “monkey” and told they “don’t belong.” Black students were also allegedly threatened with physical violence, according to the complaint.
“School staff have little, if any, proper training or experience with respect to properly responding to reports of racism,” the suit states. “often times, complaints of discrimination are simply met by silence.”
There were other instances of racism when two white students posted pics on social media with the hashtag #blackface while wearing charcoal masks.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court against Independent School District 112, also known as Eastern Carver County Schools, the outlet reports.
It accuses the district of “deliberate indifference” and failing to take “any meaningful action” in connection to the racist complaints by students of color.
The students are seeking at least $75,000 in damages because of the alleged emotional distress they’ve endured.
“At some point, enough is enough,” attorney Anna Prakash, who represents some of the families, said to The Daily Beast.
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“Our public schools are supposed to respect and keep children safe while creating an educational environment in which they can thrive. That didn’t happen for African-American students in Chaska,” said Prakash.
“Our clients tried and continue to try to get help from the administration,” said Prakash, “But, with all they have experienced and because meaningful change has not happened, they filed this lawsuit.”
“It is a pervasive problem and it goes back years,” she added. “These students and their parents are incredibly brave.”
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