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Southwick students allegedly held a ‘slave auction’ on Snapchat.
The school, in a suburb of Springfield, investigated, but the NAACP says more needs to be done.
School officials in a small town outside of Springfield finished their investigation into a “highly inappropriate and racist conversation on Snapchat,” which the NAACP said took the form of an online “slave auction.”
The Superintendent of Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District told families last week that they became aware of the conversation, which occurred outside of school, on Feb. 9. The school notified police but concluded their investigation on Feb. 16.
Southwick Regional School in Southwick, which enrolls about 600 students in 7th through 12th grade, is one of three schools in the district, which is 1.1% Black according to state data.
“As your partners in education and guardians of our school community, we feel it is crucial to address this matter with transparency, urgency, and a commitment to ensuring that such incidents do not happen again,” Superintendent Jennifer Willard wrote.
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The district did not use specifics of the results of the investigation due to privacy laws, but the school said it reflected their code of conduct.
Local NAACP chapter steps in
Bishop Talbert Swan, the president of Greater Springfield NAACP, wrote to the superintendent on Monday on behalf of a Black student he said was targeted by derogatory racial language and racist behavior, as well as the online “slave auction.”
On Tuesday, Swan followed up with the superintendent, writing that the student was never contacted by administration, despite the reportedly closed investigation.
“How can an investigation regarding the bullying and harassment of a student not include communication with the victim?” he wrote.
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The Hampden County District Attorney’s Office and their Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit are also investigating the “allegedly hate-based incident involving juveniles in the town of Southwick,” a spokesperson for the DA said.
“Hate-based harassment and violence has no place in our community,” spokesperson James Leydon said. “We will investigate any such allegations and will prosecute any criminal violations vigorously.”
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