Students sue Georgia school district over repeated racist incidents and ban on BLM attire

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A group of Georgia students filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against their school district after they were banned from wearing Black Lives Matter (BLM) attire, while white students were allowed to display Confederate flags and other seemingly racist acts at the school went unpunished.

Key Players

J.K. and J.J, Black students at Effingham County High School (ECHS), a public school northwest of Savannah, and K.M., a Black student at Effingham College and Career Academy, a district charter school, filed the lawsuit.  

Yancy Ford, the superintendent of Effingham County Public Schools, was listed as a defendant with five other members of the school board.  

Amie Dickerson has served as the principal of ECHS since 2018. 

Further Details

In their lawsuit, the students outlined a series of events they claim demonstrated that the school tolerated racist behavior from white students while Black students were prevented from expressing their support for BLM. 

The suit claims that in 2020, a group of white students filmed a video reenacting the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd and posted it on social media. 

K.M. saw the video and contacted the school administration, which suspended the white students. After their suspension, the white students harassed K.M., claiming that “she ruined their lives.” K.M. complained further to the administration but was ignored.

Other incidents involved students being allowed to wear Confederate flag apparel and hang Confederate flags around the school, The Hill reported. A teacher permitted a student to wear a Hitler costume during the school’s spirit week. In one instance, the suit claimed, white students wrote a racial slur against Black people across lockers. The incident was reported to Dickerson, who, instead of punishing the students, allowed them to confess to less severe infractions and receive a lighter punishment.

The school’s reaction to the racist incidents contrasted with an episode in 2020. Per WSAV, a 13-year-old Black student attempted to wear a BLM T-shirt to an ECHS football game. Police officers approached the student and told her that she had to leave and would not be allowed back until she changed. However, a white student with a shirt that said, “stomp my flag, I’ll stomp your ass” was not asked to leave.  

The student’s mother and WSAV contacted Ford about the incident, who said that the BLM shirt had violated district rules about political advertisements at school-sponsored events. When asked for comment, Ford said that the white student’s shirt had also been “inappropriate” and should not have been allowed at the game.

The suit explained that the students were told that while BLM clothing was disruptive and could not be worn, the Confederate flag represented “heritage not hate” and a point of “pride.”        

Outcome 

Federal lawsuit filed

On Jan. 5. 2023, J.K., J.J., and K.M. filed the lawsuit, alleging that the school district had racially discriminated against them in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, WBTW reported. The suit also sought a ruling that the dress code violated the students’ First Amendment rights and a permanent injunction against these policies, expunging any disciplinary action that had been taken. 

Ford said he had not yet been officially served with the suit, but that when he was, he would respond “in accordance with the rules and procedures of the court,” WBTW reported. 

Plaintiff’s mother seeks Department of Education investigation

Lakeisha Hamilton, the mother of J.K., told WBTW that she would try to get the U.S. Department of Education to launch an investigation into the district.  

As of Feb. 16, 2023, there were no further developments.