Black students at Haywood High School in Brownsville, Tennessee held an organized protest on Monday (Dec. 4) after social media threats to “string a ni**er up” made its way around the school.
The threat was made by members of the school’s baseball team. Students allege that the school administration tried to sweep the incident “under the rug” by having the perpetrators write a 10-page paper as punishment, although school officials, have denied the alleged punishment.
According to WREG, about 200 students participated in a sit-in during school hours, and later, many students walked out of the building for a protest on school grounds.
“Today we all come together to fight against racism,” said student Malik Green, who helped organize the protest. “We just can’t stand for it anymore and we needed to take action.”
According to the report, Haywood County Schools Superintendent Joey Hassell “has released an updated statement in regards to the racial posts stating that he has, ‘authorized an in-depth investigation into allegations of social media posts concerning Haywood High School. The investigation is fully supported by the Haywood County Board of Education.'”
Students and parents outside of Haywood High School protesting racists social media messages @WBBJ7News pic.twitter.com/Iz3zdtLm6m
— Josh Robinson (@wbbj7joshr) December 4, 2017