Fiery School Board Meeting Brings Out Black Panthers in Virginia

Tension between a Virginia school board and members of the public was a match-stroke away from flames this week as parents lambasted the district administration for not doing enough to combat violent hate speech—which many considered to be an overt death threat.

Hundreds of people turned out for the heated three-hour meeting with the Powhatan County Public School Board, just outside of Richmond, on Monday. Roughly 50 people took to the dais to share their concerns about the inaction of district with regards to bullying, with the majority of the complaints focusing on blatant racism.

“Ever since I moved to Powhatan… I felt out of place because of the color of my skin. … Kids have said the N-word right to my face,” said Powhatan Middle School 8th grader Yasmine Smith, who is Black. “I feel as if I can’t report anything because y’all will keep it on the low, give it little investigation and consequences.”

Read more at The Daily Beast.