‘Ridiculous’: Black Student Slaps Classmate Who Called Her a Racial Slur After Illinois School Fails to Punish Him; She Ends Up Suspended and Placed in Closet Instead

The mother of two middle schoolers in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, says her daughters were subjected to racial harassment and discrimination in a series of provocative incidents that led her to pursue legal action. Named in Candace Ward’s 17-page lawsuit: the Oak Park Board of Education, two teachers at Edward Julian Middle School and the school’s principal were accused of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, according to a lawsuit obtained by Atlanta Black Star. The suit references an incident that went viral in April after Ward posted a photo on social media showing a bag of cotton seeds that her seventh-grade daughter had received from her white social science teacher. According to the post, only Black students were given the seeds, which caused a furor. District officials said they received threats of violence and implemented a lockdown at the school.  Autumn Shelton speaks about the racism she and her younger sister endured at their middle school in Oak Park, Illinois. (Photo: YouTube screenshot/ABC7 Chicago) The suit also claims one of her girls was called the N-word by another student who was not punished for it. Ward’s daughters later confronted the student who allegedly used the epithet and slapped...