Four Black current and former students of the Effingham County School District in southeast Georgia have sued the district, saying they faced racism, discrimination and hostility that school leaders overlooked.
The ACLU of Georgia and Troutman Pepper law firm filed the lawsuit Friday, naming the district, Superintendent Yancy Ford and three principals — Amie Dickerson, Brigid Nesmith and Torian White — as defendants.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Savannah, seeks “to challenge ECSD’s pattern and practice of ignoring acts of racial animosity toward Black students perpetrated by White students and staff, and of sweeping Black students’ complaints under the rug,” court documents state.
The unnamed current and former students said they “have been subject to heinous racial attacks,” according to a news release from the ACLU of Georgia. They said they heard “rampant use of derogatory language,” including the n-word and other racial slurs, sometimes within earshot of teachers who didn’t reprimand the students who used the offensive language. They said classmates have dressed as Adolf Hitler and reenacted the killing of George Floyd.
The ACLU states students brought concerns to the defendants, but their complaints were ignored, silenced or resulted in consequences for coming forward.
“The young people bringing this lawsuit are seeking to remedy the wrongs within the Effingham County School District, so that they and other Black students no longer have to withstand pervasive racial discrimination and silencing of their free speech in order to get an education,” Cory Isaacson, legal director at the ACLU of Georgia, said in a statement.
Ford said Friday he was aware the lawsuit was filed, but he and other defendants had not been served and had not reviewed the allegations. He said in an email the district “does not tolerate racism or discrimination whatsoever, and I will continue to work toward ensuring all students in the District are able to enjoy a learning environment free from negative impacts of racial bias, prejudice, and discrimination.”
Effingham County sits on the South Carolina border near Savannah. More than 75% of residents are white and about 13.6% are Black, according to U.S. census data. About 17% of the school district’s 14,065 students are Black, according to state data.
The lawsuit says Black students at Effingham County and South Effingham high schools are disproportionately suspended or expelled.
The lawsuit says Effingham County has historically been hostile to Black students, barring Black students from schools for 16 years after the Supreme Court ruled segregation unconstitutional. It states Effingham High School uses a Rebel mascot, “Dixie” plays at sporting events and attendees of those events wave Confederate flags. The ACLU says this happens despite past protest by Black students, community members and the NAACP.
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and for the district to “meaningfully engage with and rectify the alleged conduct.”
Ford said once the district reviews the suit, “a response to the allegations will be filed in accordance with the rules and procedures of the court.”
About the Author
