Local News

Parent: ‘Serious lack of understanding’ from Southwick school after online ‘slave auction’

The investigation was closed, but one parent admonished the school's "serious lack of understanding."

The Snapchat application on a smartphone. Gabby Jones/Bloomberg

February 25, 2024

2 minutes to read

After a reported online “slave auction,” students at Southwick Regional School will attend an assembly after February break “for open dialogue, support, and guidance on navigating challenging situations both inside and outside of school,” the superintendent said.

Jennifer Willard, the superintendent of Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District outside of Springfield, is following up with families after the incident, which occurred outside of school earlier this month.

According to Willard, a “highly inappropriate and racist conversation on Snapchat” took place on Feb. 8, which the local NAACP chapter said took the form of an online “slave auction.” The chapter’s complaint also said a Black student was subject to derogatory racial language and racist behavior.

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.

The investigation closed, but one parent admonished the school’s ‘serious lack of understanding’

Willard said the school’s investigation was closed by Feb. 16. The school did not release any details about any outcomes, but the Hampden County District Attorney said they are investigating the incident.

Bishop Talbert Swan, the president of Greater Springfield NAACP, who submitted a complaint to the school on behalf of a student he said was targeted by racism, said the student was not spoken to by administration as part of the now-closed investigation.

“How can an investigation regarding the bullying and harassment of a student not include communication with the victim?” he wrote.

Allyson Lopez, that student’s mother, released a statement last week saying there’s “a serious lack of understanding and commitment among the administrative leadership to ensure the safety and well-being of all students because of their race and or ethnicity,” according to local reports.

“The recent revelation of an online slave auction, orchestrated by individuals within the student body, is not only abhorrent but indicative of a systemic failure within our school district to address and eradicate racism,” Lopez wrote, according to WWLP. “Any child or group of children who can stoop to such a depraved and demented act must be met with swift and decisive action.”

The superintendent released another statement last Thursday and emailed families again on Friday about the incident. While the investigation or any perpetrators were not mentioned, the school will be holding a summit to discuss “next steps” for the school community that align with its “core values,” she said.

“The anti-bias programming and training through our collaboration in recent years and months with the Anti-Defamation League and the student Connections group, as well as our anti-bullying curriculum and resources, have been valuable,” Willard wrote. “Clearly more work needs to be done in these areas.”