Black parents in Iowa are suing their child’s school district after a disturbing video shared online showed a white student pretending to execute another student who was wearing blackface.
Local news outlet KWQC obtained a copy of the video but did not air or post it. The outlet confirmed the video’s contents, noting that the unidentified Pleasant Valley High School students in the video played music full of racial slurs in the background. The video was first posted to TikTok in January 2020.
Now, parents of a Black student at the same school is suing the district for emotional damage after their child found out about the video, which they say depicts a hate crime under Iowa state law.
The petition filed January 18 claims the school knew about the video but didn’t tell parents until it resurfaced online in December 2021. The lawsuit alleges that by failing to let parents know about the video, they block parents from being able to protect their child.
The 21-page document also says the two students in the video still attend the school without disciplinary action. The parents’ lawsuit accuses the district of failing to provide a safe environment for their children and say their child suffered emotionally over the fear of “immediate physical harm and/or injury” after the video was posted.
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