UPDATED: Racist Threat Following Beating at High School Sparks Outrage
UPDATE: We at WMDT strive to bring the public the clearest, most accurate stories every day. On Monday, Sept. 29, WMDT reported about an incident at Parkside High School in which a white student was seen threatening to shoot a black student and using racial slurs. The public outrage that followed stemmed from a shorter, edited video that showed no culpability by the black student. Two days later, a longer video surfaced on social media in which the black student is seen beating the white student at her desk, then dragging her to the floor where she continued beating her until teachers intervened. While we don’t know the full story, WMDT strongly believes threats of gun violence should be taken very seriously – especially in today’s reality of mass shootings – and full transparency was warranted.
SALISBURY, Md. — A video from Parkside High School showing a student using racial slurs and making violent threats against another student was posted to Facebook on Friday, garnering hundreds of reactions. Members of the community are now calling on school officials to take action.
Members of the community like Breanna Jenkins, a parent, tell us that this isn’t the first time an incident like this has happened at local high schools, and it won’t be the last if the schools don’t take action.
“It’s critical for our school system as a whole to acknowledge the patterns, implement stronger accountability measures… We all need to be trained on how to address racism directly,” Jenkins said.
Reverend Jamesina Greene and her non-profit, A Mother’s Cry, responded to the incident, saying the threats made by the student were not school discipline issues, but quote “terroristic threats and federal crimes.” In the video, a white student can be heard calling a black student a racial slur and threatening to harm her with a firearm.
“Our children, our black children, our brown children, should not have to go to school afraid that they may get shot at simply because somebody may not like them,” Reverend Greene said.
Wicomico County Public Schools assured parents that the incident was “addressed and continues to be handled in accordance with the Code of Conduct,” in a statement sent out on Monday. Community members are asking local government officials to step in.
“We need, within the next seven days, to have a public meeting where we can hear what they’re doing, and we can voice our opinions and make some suggestions,” Reverend Greene said.
Parents and guardians of students are expressing outrage online, citing concerns for their students’ safety and well-being.
“They’re experiencing constant racism far too often and it is dismissed or it’s totally ignored, and the incidents get minimized so that’s sending a message that discrimination is acceptable,” Jenkins said.
Wicomico County Public Schools assured parents that the school is taking immediate action in a letter sent to parents on Friday.
