Parents of Georgia Students File Civil Rights Lawsuit Over Banned BLM Apparel
A Georgia school district is facing a discrimination lawsuit brought on by the parents of students who say they were not allowed to wear a Black Lives Matter t-shirt while their white peers were allowed to wear clothing displaying the Confederate flag.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court on January 10th and names school administrators in Effingham County as defendants. The lawsuit accuses the school of having a discriminatory dress code policy that advertises a much broader display of “deliberate indifference to acts of racial animosity.” If doing so, the school's policy is in direct violation of the Civil Rights Act.
Effingham County School District is unique in nature because the county is located just west of Savannah and includes a mixture of rural and suburban communities that total roughly 65,000 residents.
The lawsuit takes specific aim at a district-wide policy that bans students from wearing Black Lives Matter t-shirts because it “may contribute to disruption” The policy was exercised after a student who was wearing a Black Lives Matter t-shirt tried to enter a school football game and was denied entry while a white classmate who was wearing a t-shirt with the Confederate flag and a label that read ‘Stomp on My Flag; I’ll Stomp Your A**’ was allowed entry. Additionally, the lawsuit highlights that the school district has a history of allowing students to attend football games while wearing clothing that displayed the controversial Confederate flag.
The lawsuit goes on to describe an incident where a white student was allowed to wear a “full Hitler costume during spirit week after obtaining prior approval from a teacher.” Additionally, racist behaviors were allegedly rampant throughout the school with incidents involving two students writing racial slurs in locker rooms while another hung a noose from the football locker room.
In addition to the racial discrimination perpetuated through the dress code, the lawsuit describes an environment where discrimination was openly on display. The lawsuit explains, “The school permits faculty to display paraphernalia supporting former President Donald Trump. However, the school has expressly prohibited Plaintiffs from wearing Black Lives Matter messaging because it is disruptive and controversial.”
The complaint goes on to explain, “Defendants have been aware of a pervasive and consistent pattern of peer-to-peer harassment and discrimination, yet they failed to prevent or address the peer-to-peer racial harassment that was sufficiently serious as to create a hostile environment; that is, harassment that denies or limits a student’s ability to participate in or benefit from school.”
The lawsuit does not name the students but includes three black student plaintiffs who attend high school in the county. The lawsuit was filed by two mothers of the student plaintiffs, Lakeisha Hamilton and Tauretta McCray.
