Chatham County students held 'slave auction' at school, mother says

In a post on social media on Friday, Ashley Palmer said her son told her that one of his friends "went for $350 and another student was the "Slavemaster" because he 'knew how to handle them.'" Palmer said she already has a video of Chatham County students harmonizing racial slurs.

On Monday, Palmer told WRAL News that students who participated in the “auction” had been suspended for one day, but she was unaware of any punishment handed down to those shown in the video.

"[Monday] at recess, the 'Slavemaster' 'accidentally' hit my son with a baseball four times upon his return to school," Palmer wrote on Facebook.

In a letter sent to families, Chatham County Schools Superintendent Anthony Jackson said school leaders had been informed about students using "racially insensitive language and offensive imagery."

"I want to be crystal clear: Racist, homophobic or otherwise hateful behavior or speech has no place in the Chatham County School System," Jackson said. "We are better than this as a school system and a community."

Jackson said school leaders were working with the families of students targeted by the incidents.

He also said while the school system has tools in place to encourage students to speak up when they are the target or witness of hurtful, racist or demeaning behavior, the school system will be reviewing the processes to see if revised or additional resources are needed.

"The truth is, if children master academics but fail to appreciate the value of inclusivity, respect and diversity, we as adults have fallen short of preparing them for tomorrow," said Jackson.

But, other Chatham County students say other acts of racism have happened in the school system. Trinity Brooks said she's reluctant about returning to class for in-person instruction.

"It's like I'm being judged by my skin when I really don't have to [be,]" said Brooks.

Brooks said she's had enough of being called racial slurs by her classmates at Chatham Central High School.

"I thought it was important to share my story because not everybody has to go through the same thing," she said.

Brooks' mother, Quinetta Brooks, said she opted for her child to learn remotely over claims the in-person learning environment was too toxic.

"The whole bullying [and] the whole taunting — I have worked too hard to keep her away from that," said Quinetta Brooks. "I try my best to allow her not to fall victim to these things because today, children are killing themselves behind this kind of stuff."

Gerald Givens, with Raleigh-Apex NAACP, said his organization has seen an uptick in the number of complaints since students returned for in-person instruction.

"Racism and discrimination exist in our society, and we need to deal with it," said Givens.

"Black and brown children, at a young age, they are experiencing racism so that means that others have to be willing to learn so we can prevent it from happening," he said.

Accountability involves more than just disciplining students for these harmful acts, Givens said.

"What needs to happen now is for the parents in this community, and all of our communities, when we see this news, we sit down and we have those hard conversations," he said.