A North Carolina school district has apologized after a parent claimed her son was sold at a “slave auction” at his school.
In a March 4 Facebook post, parent Ashley Palmer said her son had “experienced a slave auction by his classmates” at J.S. Waters School in Goldston, North Carolina, in which another student served as “slavemaster” and her son “went for $350.” She went on to claim that she had a video of students “harmonizing the N word.”
“Since when were children so blatantly racist? Why is this culture acceptable?” she wrote in the post, which was first reported by the Raleigh News and Observer. “Parents teach your kids that this behavior isn’t ok. Teach them also that SILENCE IS COMPLICITY! Laughter is even worse!”
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The Chatham County School District did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment, but the district commented on Palmer’s Facebook post and thanked her for bringing the incident to the principal’s attention. The district superintendent, Dr. Anthony Jackson, later issued a letter to the community saying he had become aware of “recent incidents involving students using racially insensitive language and offensive imagery,” and that administrators were working with the families of the targeted students. He promised that “those who are acting outside of our expectations will be held accountable.”
In a follow-up Facebook post Monday, Palmer reported that the students involved in the alleged auction had been suspended but nothing had been done in response to the video. She also claimed the student who acted as “slavemaster” had hit her child with a baseball after his return to school.
“It’s a shame my child isn’t safe at school,” she wrote. “Where is the staff when this is happening? Now when my son gets fed up, will they protect him the way they have protected this other child?”
Palmer did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment.
