A Texas school district says it’s taking disciplinary action against a group of high school students who allegedly held a mock “slave auction” on Snapchat.
The Aledo Independent School District confirmed the racist stunt was carried out by students from the Daniel Ninth Grade Campus. CNN obtained screenshots from the Snapchat group, reportedly titled “N***** Auction,” where students pretended to bid on their Black classmates. One student offered to pay $100 on one of his peers, and another wrote, “1$ on Chris. Would be better if his hair wasn’t so bad.”
Officials from the AISD reportedly reviewed the chat and determined “racial harassment and cyberbullying had occurred.” They also confirmed the students involved in the racist incident have been identified and are being disciplined; however, they did not provide details on what kind of action the district was taking.
“I know I speak for our entire Aledo community when I say that I am deeply sorry that a few of our students engaged in racial harassment of two of our students of color in a social media chat,” read a message from the district. “I am also deeply sorry for the hurt that it has caused the victims and their families. It was totally unacceptable to all of us, and it should not have happened.”
According to CNN, there are more than 6,000 students within the school district, and nearly 80 percent of them are white.
At a school board meetingthis week, Chris Johnson, who was one of the students identified in the auction chat, spoke about the incident. He said neither the school board nor the district have apologized to him.
“The only apology I’m accepting is a change in behavior,” Johnson said. “I know the communities are ready for change, and we will do our part. Now I’m asking the board of trustees and the superintendent: When will you make the changes needed to ensure all of us feel treated fairly and safe?”
