Parents in Iowa are suing a school district, the superintendent, school board, and a high school principal over an allegedly racist video involving two students that was posted on TikTok in 2020.
The lawsuit came from parents of a Black student at Pleasant Valley High School who are now suing for emotional damages after their child became aware of the video.
The video, which was obtained by KWQC-TV, showed one student wearing blackface and the other pretending to beat him with an object resembling a golf club while yelling out racist slurs. The video ended with the teenager pretending to shoot the one in blackface execution-style before turning the camera and holding two thumbs up, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit filed on January 18 accuses the high school was aware of the video from January 2020 and waited to inform parents until the video resurfaced in December 2021.
The lawsuit stated that not informing parents about the video, prevented them from being able to protect their children from potentially watching.
Although the lawsuit stated that the video depicted a hate crime under Iowa law, it claimed the two teenagers involved in the video did not face any consequences and still attend the school.
The video, which depicted physical harm against a person because of their race, is an action categorized as a hate crime under Iowa legislation.
The lawsuit stated that school officials failed to "provide a safe environment for students" by not making the students responsible face any consequences. It also stated that the school district allowed for the violation of students' rights by having the students' actions go unpunished.
The parents who filed the complaint said they want compensation for emotional damages caused by the video due to a lack of action from the high school and school district. The parents stated that their child suffered from fear of immediate harm or injury due to the video.
Newsweek reached out to the Pleasant Valley School District for comment.
This isn't the first time a school district has come under fire for blackface and other discriminatory behavior. In November, Newsweek reported on a teacher in Toronto who was placed on home assignment after wearing blackface as part of a Halloween costume.
According to a letter sent out to families by Parkdale Collegiate Institute Principal Julie Ardell, the teacher was asked to wash his face after several students reported his costume to school administrators.
"Caricatures of peoples' race or culture are not appropriate and are offensive and hurtful. Regardless of whether this was intended or not, it was racist and dehumanizing," Ardell wrote in the letter.
Ardell praised students for coming forward about the teacher and stated "it is clear we must do more" to address racism in schools.
A petition was created by parents urging the school district to take racism more seriously. The petition also stated the situation was "traumatizing" to some students and that it was not fair that the students were responsible for alerting administrators.
"This is not a one-time incident," the petition stated. "As parents, many of us have witnessed overt and micro racial aggressions toward our children. This incident, however, is severe, shocking and concerning."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Samantha Berlin is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on trends and human-interest stories. Samantha ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
