Tuscaloosa City Schools Investigating After Racist Video Sparks Calls For Action

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The Tuscaloosa County Branch of NAACP on Monday called for Tuscaloosa City Schools to implement a "Zero Tolerance Policy" against racially-charged language used by Tuscaloosa City School students on and off school properties following a video allegedly showing a TCS student using racist language in an online video.

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Due to the subject of the video potentially being a minor and the lack of confirmation with relation to the video, Patch has chosen to not provide specific details relating to its content. Still, nothing has stopped the nine-second TikTok clip from making the rounds online and subsequently igniting a fervor among TCS parents and those in the community.

"While this is an isolated incident, it is representative of a culture that persists and permeates throughout our educational system," Tuscaloosa Branch NAACP President Lisa Young said, before calling for violations of the policy by students to be punished with expulsion, whether the remarks are made on or off TCS campuses.

In the NAACP's statement, Young went on to say:

"People elected or placed in positions to protect the interest of all residents of Tuscaloosa, that are more set on preserving divisions of hierarchy and maintaining a culture of underclass than striving to achieve true equality and establish safe spaces for Tuscaloosa's most vulnerable populations. It is these biased responses that serve as a conduit for these anti-social and racially insensitive acts of aggression to persist. If the punishment for these degrading acts were applied equally across zip codes, we would see an immediate decline in their occurrence. Still, as long as some students know that they will continue to be sheltered, they will continue their assault on Tuscaloosa's marginalized communities."

Tuscaloosa City Schools responded to the video when asked for comment by Patch, saying the school system "is aware of a video on social media involving hate speech. The incident is currently under investigation and the TCS Parent/Student Resource Guide and Code of Conduct will govern the response."

TCS did not confirm the school where the student supposedly attends and said disciplinary action taken will remain confidential, pursuant to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

According to the Tuscaloosa City Schools Code of Conduct for 2023 (page 36), any offense committed based on race is considered an "aggravated" offense, which is punishable with additional disciplinary measures.

TCS Public Information Officer Lydia Avant declined to provide further details as the matter remains under active investigation by the school system

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