Volunteer group calls for solutions after fights involving Latino students at Johnston County high school

After a series of fights at Smithfield-Selma High School, an advocacy organization for Latino students is asking for help from school leaders and the Johnston County school board to keep the problem from getting worse.

In October 2023, Latinos Activate President Sergio Benitez wrote a letter after a fight involving a Latino student at Smithfield-Selma High School. During the fight, racial slurs were thrown around. School police even filed a police report.

“We are trying to prevent a catastrophe,” Latinos Activate President Sergio Benitez wrote.

Benitez said he represents Latino parents who may be too afraid to speak up. So, he wrote the letter to the Johnston County Public Schools offering to help provide solutions to the tensions. However, he says he never received a response.

He says parents reported the fights and the slurs, following school procedures, but nothing has changed.

A few months later, there were three more fights involving Latino students at Smithfield-Selma High School, according to Benitez.

On Dec. 12, Benitez took his message straight to the school board.

“I haven’t heard anything,” Benitez said. “I submitted the letter expressing our concerns of our community, and we went to offer to help them tackle the situation that we are living in.”

Benitez said he would like to see increased security at the school, and he wants Latino parents to be part of the solution by working with the school board. He said he requested a meeting with school district leaders to discuss potential solutions. He said the district has yet to respond.

“Let’s come together, not next month, not next week, but now – for the safety and dignity of every student under our care,” he wrote. “Let us set a date, not just on the calendar, but in our hearts, where we commit to turning the tide against violence and toward the nurturing environment every child deserves.”

On Wednesday, WRAL News went to the Johnston County Public Schools headquarters. A district representative said the district cannot discuss how students were disciplined in these cases, but said there have been substantial discussions behind the scenes involving the recent fights.

Benitez says he is amplifying this issue because he wants the conflict resolved, and he wants to prevent escalation in 2024.

“I’m trying to prevent incidents when it can,” Benitez said. “It can be really bad for the whole community.”