Racial Bias Claimed In Lawsuit Against Prince Of Peace School

HOOVER, AL - Prince of Peace Catholic School in Hoover is the subject of a discrimination lawsuit filed this week by the parents of a 13-year-old black student who was expelled from the school this year. Marvin and Kenya Marshall say their son was expelled because Kenya Marshall posted a video on social media showing racism in the school.

According to the complaint, filed by attorney Richard A. Rice and retired Judge U.W. Clemon on behalf of the Marshalls, a white student is seen in the video addressing the black male student by stating, “One of my n-----s escaped my slave house. I gotta go find him. Please help me find him.” The lawsuit alleges racial discrimination and names the school, Prince of Peace Church Pastor John Fallon, Principal Connie Angstadt, School President Kelly Doss, and Associate Principal Bridget Carter as defendants.

An attorney for the Catholic Diocese of Birmingham, John Whitaker released a statement regarding the incident. “Recently one of our students was videoed using a racial slur," Whitaker said. "Although it was impossible to tell to whom the slur was directed, given the ethnic diversity of the school, we took the matter seriously. He had violated school rules and was disciplined accordingly. Sadly, he is no longer a student at this school.” (For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Patch morning newsletter.)

The school maintains that the video was taken out of context, and that posting the video was a violation of school policy, which led to the child's expulsion. "The matter was further complicated by one of our parents, Mrs. Kenya Marshall, who took it upon herself to post the slur on her Facebook page and make derogatory comments about both the student and school," Whitaker said. "In part she claimed the slur was directed at her son, which is not true. Mrs. Marshall’s actions violated both a written agreement we make with our parents and rules we have in place to protect our students. Exposure of this child’s behavior in such a public forum put the student at risk of harm and other serious negative consequences."

Whitaker said comments and replies to the post became threatening in nature to both the child depicted in the video and the school. "When school administration learned of the post, we requested multiple times that she remove it. She declined. Parents requested that she remove the post. She declined their requests. Eventually she did take it down although it reappeared on her sister’s Facebook page," he said.

The Plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages as well as preliminary and permanent injunctive relief that would permit the 13 year old student to return to the school.

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