A clip that has been widely shared on social media shows two young, white boys using racial slurs -- one of them is seen wearing a white cloth hood.
“Hold on, you see that?” one of the boys said in the video, pointing straight to the camera. “It’s a n****r.”
According to multiple parents who provided the video to News4Jax, the clip had been sent to a group of Black students at Yulee High School in Nassau County by one of their classmates.
A spokesperson for the Nassau County School District told News4Jax that the student who sent the video via SnapChat, was not one of the two students who appeared in it.
Nassau County Public School Assistant Superintendent Mark Durham released the following statement:
“The district was made aware of a video that was recorded this summer but just recently sent on Snap Chat to several Yulee High School students. The video contained racial slurs and images. It resulted in a physical altercation involving several students. Disciplinary actions consistent with the district’s code of conduct have been given to students involved in the altercation and in sending the Snap Chat video.”
Mark Durham, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction
News4Jax deemed the video too offensive to share in its unedited form, but an edited version appears in the videos inside this article from our coverage.
The students who appeared in the video were not suspended, the district confirmed.
“It’s disgusting,” one parent of a Yulee High School student told News4Jax. “The fact that this kid that made this vile, nasty, distasteful video is still walking around campus while you have kids who confronted him to defend themselves are sitting at home is two-thirds of the problem.”
The parent, who asked not to be identified, said the rest of the problem is the lack of a substantive response from school administrators, including Principal Yvon Joinville.
“Basically his fear is this going public, not that it’s been mishandled, not that they didn’t address the real issue at hand,” the parent said. “None of the above. It’s that he doesn’t want the public knowing about this.”
Melissa Ricks, whose child was one of those suspended, said the administration needs to employ a more proactive, anti-racism approach to the situation.
“This is an issue of outward racism in our school that’s not being brought awareness to,” Ricks said. “All we need is an administration that cares about the issues and is willing to publicly bring awareness to our students and our community, that they are actively looking for ways and resolutions to bring in the parents, bring in the students, and figure out a way to bring these kids together and stop allowing the separation.”
Some players on the Yulee High School football team plan to protest the suspension of the Black students and the school’s response to the video by refusing to play Friday night’s home game against Bradford County, according to multiple parents.
Those parents told News4Jax that Principal Joinville informed the team that any player who refuses to take part in the Homecoming game Friday night will forfeit the rest of the season.
According to Durham, the confrontation was physical but did not result in any injuries.
The district later released a supplementary statement:
“Nassau County School District and Yulee High School want to make it clear that acts of discrimination based on race will not be tolerated on our campuses or toward our students. Individuals committing such acts will be subject to disciplinary consequences. We recognize that many students were negatively affected by the content of this video and the school is prepared to support their needs.”
Mark Durham, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction