Speakers urge Lincoln County Schools to publicly show enforcement after racial slur video
Summary
Two community leaders told the Lincoln County Schools board on Sept. 2 that the district must demonstrate whether and how its anti-harassment policies were enforced after a viral video showing racial slurs against a student.
At the Lincoln County Schools Board of Education meeting on Sept. 2, two community speakers pressed district leaders to publicly confirm whether they enforced district anti-harassment rules after a viral video showed a student being targeted with racial slurs.
Reverend Kino Kennedy, pastor of Poplar Springs AME Zion Church, told the board the episode "has caused great harm" and said the public is entitled to know whether the district followed its own policies. "The community is not asking for confidential details of student discipline. All we're asking is whether Lincoln County Schools will publicly demonstrate that it honors its own policy," Kennedy said.
Kennedy cited policy "9/7.311" and the West Lincoln High School student handbook as prohibiting off-campus harassment that affects the school environment and said the community needs to know whether those rules were enforced. "Without that, the promise to make that was made to the media is just public relations, not public accountability," he said.
Keith Poston, identified as president of the local NAACP, told the board the organization will "lean in, engage, and stand with the community." He urged the district to adopt and consistently enforce comprehensive anti-racism measures, including collaborative policy development, regular communication, educator training and safe reporting systems. "Consistent policies against racism not only protect students, but also build trust among families, community stakeholders," Poston said.
Poston listed several recommended steps for the district: develop clear anti-racism policies with student and family input, provide professional development on bias and trauma-informed practices, establish safe reporting mechanisms and commit to transparent investigation and resolution of incidents. He said the district's recent rollout of the "Leader in Me" program shows the system can implement non‑state‑mandated initiatives when it chooses.
Board members did not respond during the public-comment period; the board later entered a closed session for confidential student and personnel matters. No board action on the specific incident was taken in open session that evening.
The two speakers addressed concerns about trust and student safety; they asked the board to report whether existing policies were applied in the incident and to adopt longer-term changes to prevent recurrence.
