A mother in Illinois is taking her children out of their local public school after a racist video by students began circulating on social media.
According to The News Gazette, 8th grade students from the Paxton-Buckley-Loda school system posted a video on social media which captured them saying racist phrases like "kill all the Blacks" and "get back in your cage, monkey."
After seeing the video, Kate Grayson made the decision to remove her five children from the Paxton-Buckley-Loda school system, choosing to homeschool them instead.
CBS affiliate WCIA News reported on the story.
Grayson told The News Gazette the video was not an isolated incident, but it was the "last straw".
“They all have had this problem."
“My oldest daughter was told to stand up for herself on the bus."
"She stood up for herself, and they kicked her off the bus.”
Grayson addressed these issues with the school, as well as other parents, but has yet to see any change.
"I try to explain to everybody."
"They say I’m bashing the school.”
“I’m literally at the end of my rope."
I’ve been asking them to do something for like nine years."
"If they would just teach them consequences."
"It’s unacceptable and completely ignorant."
She told WCIA concerns regarding her son's future contributed heavily to her decision to pull him out of school.
"He wants to be a surgeon and I'm trying to explain to him 'if you keep getting in fights you can't get into a good college'.
Grayson's cousin, Peyton Newman, stood by Grayson's decision to pull her children from school.
"My cousins shouldn't have to go through that because of the color of their skin."
"They should be respected as the content of their character."
Angela Bigham another parent with children in the Paxton-Buckley-Loda school system believed the video was directed at her son.
This led Bingham to keep her son out of school for multiple days, unsure of when or if he'll ever return.
"I don’t think he should have to face these children that he’s in classes with.”
“He believed these kids were his friends. They’ve spent the night before."
Coy Cornett, chief of the Paxton County Police Department told The News Gazette his department is "actively investigating the case."
Grayson also revealed the case was brought to the attention of the Iroquois County Sheriff’s Office, since Loda is part of that county.
However, the Iroquois County Sheriff's office informed Grayson for the video to be considered a hate crime, they would need "direct proof it was directed toward one student."
As a result, Grayson has been busy compiling as much information as she can to eventually give to the police.
This includes emails sent by students to one of her children which used racial slurs and threatened her child's life.
Like Grayson, Bigham also has five children, all of whom, she says have been taunted and harassed.
"A few years ago, some of the kids in the high school did the whole Civil War flags, the rebel flags."
"They flew them behind their trucks toward the end of the school year, and they were walking up and down the halls calling my daughter (a racial epithet)."
"She was always teased because of her color."
While school administrators told Bigham the offending students were told not to do this again, the students came back to the school the next day with the flags pinned to their windshields out of sight from the faculty and staff.
Bigham attributed the behavior of these students both to their home lives, as well as to the lack of education they are receiving in the classroom
"It’s degrading"
“There is no Black history being taught in PBL schools for these children to know any different."
"These kids are either learning (bigotry) at home or on TV, and they need to educate them on it."
As the story began to gain more attention nationwide, Twitter users reacted.
Several shared Bigham's sentiment the behavior of the children in the video was likely enabled at home and more work needs to be done within the school system.
Superintendent Cliff McClure told The News Gazette he couldn't comment on the matter because he “can’t talk about students or family.”
However, he did address the video in a statement posted to the Paxton-Buckley-Loda school district's website.
"We are investigating the matter in cooperation with the Paxton Police Department."
“It goes without saying that the contents of the video are offensive and unacceptable."
“PBL Unit 10 is a community where all are welcome, and the safety of our students and staff are of paramount importance.”
