White students stage ‘slave auction,’ harass Black child at TN school, lawsuit says

A mother is suing a Tennessee education board after she said school officials allowed a “racially-hostile” environment to continue at her son’s middle school.

Erika Qualls’ son, who is an eighth grader at Church Hill Middle School in Church Hill, Tennessee, was repeatedly called a racist slur by white students, subjected to “a barrage of other racial epithets” like “monkey,” shown images of Ku Klux Klan members holding torches and nooses, taunted in a “slave auction” staged by other students, chased and insulted with a stuffed monkey, and shown images of African-American caricatures being stabbed and shot, according to a lawsuit filed on May 24.

Qualls’ lawsuit alleges that despite repeated attempts to bring concerns about her son’s treatment to administrators, they consistently dismissed her and tried to shift blame onto her son.

About 6.1% of the student body at Church Hill Middle School is made up of minority students, about 1.3% of whom are Black, according to U.S. News and World Report. Church Hill is about 85 miles northeast of Knoxville.

In a statement to McClatchy News, Matt Hixson, director of schools for Hawkins County Schools — the district that oversees Church Hill Middle School — denied that the school had tolerated racism or harassment on its campus. The Hawkins County Board of Education is named as the defendant in the lawsuit.

“When such allegations are brought to our attention regarding student conduct, we take steps to investigate the same and to discipline those found responsible,” the statement says. “Hawkins County Schools and the many educators who work within our school system strive to create an environment where all students - regardless of their race - feel safe and welcome. And we will defend ourselves in court against any claims to the contrary.”

But Larry Crain, the attorney representing Qualls, said he and his client documented about 15 racist incidents at the school during the 2021-2022 school year, all of which have caused Qualls’ son severe emotional distress.

“He is experiencing quite a bit of emotional depression and anxiety over what has happened,” Crain told McClatchy News. “It’s taking awhile for him to deal with this.”

In September 2021, a white student came into Qualls’ son’s classroom yelling “fight me, you (expletive) monkey,” the lawsuit says. Another student slapped him on his way to football practice and used a racial epithet, according to the lawsuit.

In March, several white students laughed as they passed a drawing around the cafeteria depicting a Ku Klux Klan member holding a torch and a noose and standing over “Monkey Island,” the lawsuit says.

That same month, five white students confronted Qualls’ son in the bathroom and recorded on their cellphones as one student chased him with a stuffed monkey. They later posted the video on Snapchat with the caption, “Monkey chases monkey,” the lawsuit says.

Students also acted out a “slave auction” and pretended to sell Qualls’ son to the highest bidder, according to the lawsuit.

In April, Qualls tried to follow up with school Principal Scott Jones about the harassment of her son, but Jones denied having any prior knowledge of what had happened despite the fact that Hixson, the school director, had told Qualls the incidents were under investigation, the lawsuit says.

In May, Qualls reported a photo that was circulating on social media showing white students holding inflated vinyl gloves with caricatures drawn on them meant to mock Black people, the lawsuit says. Videos then circulated on Instagram showing students shooting and stabbing the gloves.

A white student also approached Qualls’ son, showed him the tag on his shirt that read “100% cotton” and said, “Thanks for picking my shirt this morning,” and used a racist slur, the lawsuit says.

In the complaint, Qualls demands that the school be prohibited from further violating her son’s civil rights under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prevents discrimination on the basis of race, and that the board of education award her $2.5 million in compensatory damages.