The superintendent of a North Carolina school district has issued an apology after a K-8 school held a "mock slave auction" in which white students pretended to sell their Black classmates.
The incident occurred earlier this month at J.S. Waters School in Goldston, about 50 miles west of Raleigh. It was brought to light in a Facebook post by a parent who said her Black son told her a classmate was "sold" for $350.
"Our son experienced a slave auction by his classmates and when he opened up we were made aware that this type of stuff seems to be the norm so much that he didn't think it was worth sharing. His friend 'went for $350' and another student was the Slavemaster because he 'knew how to handle them,'" Ashley Palmer wrote in her post, according to CNN.
The incident didn't take place in a classroom setting, but staff and faculty were present, NBC News reported. It was also recorded.
Palmer later wrote that after complaining to administrators about the "slave auction," the students involved only received a one day suspension for their actions, ABC 11 reported. When the students returned, they retaliated against her son for reporting the incident and hit him with a baseball, she told the station.
At a school board meeting on Monday, more parents came forward.
"I asked my son why didn't he tell me? He responded with, 'Mom it wasn't a big deal,'" one mother said, according to CNN. "I am a mother who just had to explain to my son why being auctioned as a slave is unacceptable. This moment in my son's early life has already made him question playing the sport he loves with his friends, and I pray this does not impact him mentally and socially going forward."
Chatham County Superintendent Anthony Jackson sent a letter to parents last week, apologizing for unacceptable "recent incidents involving students using racially insensitive language and offensive imagery," The Charlotte News & Observer reported.
"I want to be crystal clear: Racist, homophobic or otherwise hateful behavior or speech has no place in the Chatham County School System," Jackson wrote. "I want to assure everyone that we are working with and will continue to work with families of students who are targeted in this way."
At Monday's board meeting, Jackson took his message of regret one step further and offered "an apology to every single student who has ever felt unsafe while in our care, to every student who has ever felt demeaned, disrespected or marginalized because of their race, ethnicity, sex, gender, religion or disability," the newspaper added.
The school board unanimously approved changes to its policies for dealing with acts of racism and also plans to review its student code of conduct and discipline policies, according to the newspaper.
Meantime, Palmer is considering legal action for the alleged assault and continuous harassment of her son, ABC 11 reported.
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