A group of students at a Missouri high school reportedly posted a petition online calling for the return of slavery — prompting an investigation that may lead to suspensions or expulsions, district officials said.
Details of the racist petition posted by students at Park Hill High School in Kansas City were not provided to The Post Thursday, but parents of students at the school want those responsible to be held accountable, the Kansas City Star reported.
Students at the school said the hateful post called for the return of slavery — with leaked screenshots showing accompanying comments reading “I hate blacks” and “I love slavery,” WDAF reported.
“I thought it was fake,” senior Brie Holmes told the station. “I thought it was like a sick joke and a rumor. And my teacher had said she was also upset by it, but the kids were, like, joking about it and not taking it seriously.”
Holmes said her own racial background complicated the issue for her.
“Well, my mom is Caucasian, and my dad is African American,” Holmes said. “With this particular situation, it’s sad to say, I’m not surprised that it happened at my school. There have been some funky things going on.”
The district’s superintendent, Jeanette Cowherd, said in a letter Wednesday to parents that many in the community were “hurting right now” following the incident last week when a group of students posted “unacceptable and racist” statements online.
The district’s policies bar discrimination, harassment and retaliation, Cowherd said, adding that any student who violates the guidelines could be punished by suspension or expulsion.
“I cannot share the specifics about any particular student’s discipline, but I can tell you that we follow our board policy when disciplining students,” Cowherd’s letter read.
The school’s principal, Kerrie Herren, told Park Hill South families on Friday about the “unacceptable and racist” statements posted online by the students during a school-related activity.
“We are outraged, hurt and saddened this occurred in our community,” Herren wrote. “This is not who we want to be at Park Hill South. Our differences make us stronger, and we will not tolerate discrimination or harassment.”
District spokeswoman Nicole Kirby told The Post Thursday a “small group” of students were responsible for the troubling online post — which she declined to detail, but said news reports on it were accurate.
“We know who was involved,” Kirby said, adding that she was precluded from discussing individual students but noted that “consequences” would be doled out to those behind it.
“This is a very clear indicator that we need to be doing work about making sure that our schools are safe for every student, where everyone feels like they belong,” Kirby said.
The district has roughly 11,700 students, Kirby said, 12.7 percent of whom are black. Some 66.1 percent of the district’s students are white.
Kirby said the district will hold a “period of active listening” after Herren met with every person who called to complain about the online post and set up lunches with students for them to talk about the issue.
“We want to create more opportunities for listening to families and students so we can be aware of what the issues are that are impacting our school community, so we can identify our next steps,” Kirby said.