An Illinois school district is facing a federal lawsuit over alleged discrimination against two young Black students. ABC7 Chicago reported that Candace Ward, the mother of two daughters in the Oak Park School District, has accused the district of multiple racist incidents...though this latest one may be the most damning.
Ward’s daughter, 13-year-old Autumn Shelton, said her history teacher only gave the Black kids in her class bags of cotton after a lesson on slavery.
“It was dirty, like a dirty bag of cotton,” Shelton explained to the news outlet. “[The teacher] let us pick it or clean it for the rest of the class period...I always feel targeted at this school; like, it’s attention on me because I’m a Black girl.”
The Percy Julian Middle School student said she didn’t fully grasp what was going on until she brought the bag home to Ward, who posted a photo of the bag of cotton on Facebook last April, which was republished by The Kansas City Star.
“When it was happening to us, nobody believed it. But, the more they get away with, the more stuff they do,” Ward stated. “I don’t feel my kids are safe.”
The suit filed against the school district states that Shelton, along with her younger sister Serenity, have experienced multiple instances of racial discrimination, including when Serenity was allegedly called a racial slur by a white student.
In a statement, the school district said: “District 97 is aware of a lawsuit recently filed by a District parent. The District has, at all times, remained committed to providing an educational environment that is equitable, positive, safe, and free of discrimination against any student, staff, parent, and/or guardian.”
Ward claims as a result of the discrimination, her two daughters have suffered both emotionally and physically. The district also said it plans on disputing the allegations and defending its employees against the shocking claims.