The family of a Florida teen who says she was subjected to racial discrimination — including being referred to as a “cotton picker” and “Black one” by her peers — is pursuing legal action against her high school.
The attorney representing the 11th grader called it a “widespread issue.”
Grace Clay and her father filed the lawsuit against Babcock Neighborhood School on Wednesday, Oct. 11. Several parents of kids accused of committing the acts against the 16-year-old at the southwest Florida charter school were also listed as defendants. Attorney Joseph North told Atlanta Black Star on Friday that the adults connected to this case failed his client.
“Based on what we already know, Babcock administrators, its owner, its teachers, and coaches, as well as a number of parents, failed,” he added. “They failed their parental duties; they failed their educational duties and their duties of decency. And that is the epitome of negligence, which is why I describe what happened at Babcock Neighborhood School as just a culture of chaos and hatred.”
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The lawsuit claims that during the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 school years, Clay experienced racial discrimination, false imprisonment, assault, and bullying. It alleges that she was targeted and called the N-word and “monkey” by other students at Babcock High School in Babcock Ranch, Florida.
During one instance in August 2023, Clay was on an overnight trip with the volleyball team, and according to the lawsuit, her teammates “restrained” her in the room while calling her racial slurs. Speaking to local news, the teen said she sat in the corner and “took it” while her peers struck her with pillows. The incident was captured on video.
“When you talk about someone who’s of that age, that’s something that she’s going to have to deal with for the rest of her life,” North said. “And so not only was she robbed of just a normal and healthy,…
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