Almost a month after a 12-year-old Live Oak Classical School student who is black suffered rope burns around her neck in what her family’s attorney is calling a racially motivated attack, supporters demonstrated and marched through Waco on Friday demanding answers from the school.
“My heart is hurting, because I am a single mother of three girls and one boy, and first off, a baby, a child was hurt,” demonstrator Tashita Bibles said. “When any child hurts, we all should hurt. I’m a Christian first and then a mother. As a Christian and a mother, nothing about this was done right.”
Bibles joined more than 100 demonstrators who staged a civil protest outside Live Oak in downtown Waco, chanted for racial equality and stood in solidarity with the local girl.
The school was closed Friday for summer break.
“Black power, black power,” the group, comprised of Waco residents and community activists from Dallas, shouted. “No justice, no peace. No justice, no peace.”
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Group believe injuries were racially motivated to cause injuries to 12 year old girl pic.twitter.com/IS7JFgVOIa
— Kristin Hoppa (@WacoTribHoppa) May 27, 2016
The outcry came after about 25 students went on an overnight field trip to Enchanted Rock State Natural Area in late April, the family’s attorney, Levi McCathern said. Students left the park and went to a nearby ranch in Blanco County to stay the night, which was where the injury happened, McCathern said.
The girl, who has been bullied by students in the past, was helping pull on a rope swing while other students rode the swing, then stopped to watch, McCathern said. Standing near the swing, she felt the rope come around her neck, causing her to fall to the ground as three boys, who are white, pulled the rope.
“I guess what I am most upset about is about the school’s response to what happened, because I felt like the school was on notice about this student being bullied by kids who were also on this trip,” McCathern said. “The parent had asked to be a chaperone, but the school didn’t honor that request. . . . The physical evidence that I have seen determines that this was an intentional act.”
McCathern also made a connection to the lynching of Jesse Washington, a black teen who was publicly tortured and lynched in downtown Waco after a jury convicted him of the rape and murder of his employer’s wife in 1916.
With the 100th anniversary of the lynching this year, McCathern said he had to ask the school, which has mostly white students, if the incident and the school’s response racially targeted the girl.
“These boys have no idea about Jesse Washington, but this is crazy the way the school is trying to portray this. They realize they did wrong, so their defense is, ‘Look at something that was even worse.’ This isn’t really a black or white issue. It is a civil rights issue.”
School officials determined the incident was an accident, and a chaperone, who is also a physician, administered first aid immediately, said David Deaconson, a Waco attorney representing Live Oak. Deaconson said the girl returned to the other students and participated in the rest of the trip.
He said the girl’s mother was not notified of the incident immediately.
“They (the school) followed protocol that they had at the time. The school regrets that the mother wasn’t called, but that gave them the opportunity to review and change their protocols to ensure that parents are called regularly regarding any injuries from here on out,” Deaconson said. “The school is sad that any student would get hurt on a field trip. They care about the safety of all their students and that is what they put into place first.”
He said the school does not think the incident was racially motivated.
McCathern told school officials he would release information to media outlets if they didn’t give the girl’s family $2.7 million, Deaconson said.
“He was the one who came up with a financial amount,” Deaconson said. “They came up with that amount, not the school.”
Deaconson said he thinks the connection to the Washington lynching was fictitious and the connection was made as an attempt to force a payment from the school.
McCathern said he offered the $2.7 million figure after the school asked for a damage amount so they could advise their insurance provider.
Regardless of the legal disputes, demonstrators staged outside the school Friday afternoon shouted questions about the incident, demanded the school take responsibility for the girl’s injury and demanded a criminal investigation into the students who are allegedly responsible.
Blanco County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Ben Ablon declined to discuss details of the case, saying the agency’s investigation is ongoing.
Demonstrators marched from the school into the Castle Heights neighborhood, chanting their message along the way.
Northeast Riverside Neighborhood Associate President Jeanette Bell said she was surprised to see more than 100 demonstrators, many from Dallas, rallying around the Waco family.
“I am very happy about this response, because there has been a lot of stuff that is going on in Waco for decades that has been covered up for a long time,” Bell said. “This time, we need answers. We need to know how this can happen to a little girl.”
McCathern said he is continuing to investigate details about the school and the field trip, but he plans to file a formal civil lawsuit for the family within the next two weeks.
