This diary is a followup to my March 31st diary on the same subject:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
This story has been picked up by By Patrice Peck
Posted: 04/08/2014 03:30 PM EDT on BET online news: http://www.bet.com/...
The change.org petition that I linked to in the March 31st diary has now received 90,000 signatures according to Mr. Peck at BET.http://www.change.org/...
More than 90,000 people have rallied behind one African-American teenager in a recent Change.org petition, accusing an entire Texas school district of discriminatory disciplinary action.
“Drop the felony charges against Joquan Wallace,” reads the petition, organized by Paris, Texas-based civil rights activist Brenda Cherry. “Stop the School to Prison Pipeline at Paris Independent School District.”
“It’s all for nothing,” Cherry told BET.com. “He wasn’t doing anything but going to the bathroom.”
The protest comes close behind a recent report by the U.S. Department of Education confirming that Black students face disproportionately harsher discipline than other students, even as preschoolers.
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Ultimately, what began as an excused trip to the bathroom ended in the student’s arrest, a trip to the emergency room, an expulsion and two felony counts of assault on public servants.
A star track and football player once on track to receive athletic college scholarships, Wallace now attends an alternative disciplinary school. Prior to the incident, his only misbehaviors were two tardy marks, as stated in his expulsion hearing.
The date of Wallace’s court case has yet to be announced or dismissed, placing Wallace and his family in a state of limbo. District Attorney Gary Young did not respond to a request for a phone interview. However, a member of his office staff claimed not to know anything about Wallace or his case.
Dion Wallace, Joquan’s mother, told BET.com that the best scenario would be Preston and McCarthy losing their jobs.
“This is not the first kid they’ve hurt or tried to ruin their lives,” she said. “They've gotten away with it for so long.”
I have e-mailed Rachel Maddow on this and hope she picks it up.
Please read the BET piece in its entirety. It covers the story thoroughly.
One thing that I believe is true is that the school district is in denial over the culpability of the principal and the guard.
It’s all about respect - or in this case disrespect.
The police officer in his report explained that he had checked under the Joquan’s stall when he was in the bathroom.
Say what?
How would he like us peeking under his stall?
I don’t know what they’re up to but they need to be held accountable and Joquan needs to be able to graduate and keep his scholarship.
They seem to want to ruin him in order to justify their own unacceptable behavior.
AT THIS POINT, IMO, THEY NEED TO SHOW THE VIDEO AND IF JOE DIDN’T DO ANYTHING, AS SEEMS TO BE THE CASE, THEY MUST APOLOGIZE TO JOE (JOQUAN) WALLACE IN PUBLIC AND REINSTATE HIM IN SCHOOL TO GRADUATE AND HAVE ACCESS TO HIS SCHOLARSHIP.
Both Cherry and local civil lawyer Sharon Reynerson of Lonestar Legal Aid also believe that Paris High School has a history of treating African-American students differently than white students.
They pointed to Shaquanda Cotton, the former Paris High student who was sentenced for up to seven years in prison at 14 years old for shoving a teacher’s aide. Cotton’s story rose to national prominence after the Chicago Tribune detailed how a 14-year-old white girl convicted of arson was only sentenced to probation by the same judge.
Reynerson also pointed to the cases of autistic student Joshua Mark Washington, Charla Roberts, Brandarian Thomas, Domienek Reed, Rico Lewis, Antreus Black, Johnny Davis, Tracey Johnson and Cornelius Gill — all of whom she claims received disparate treatment from the Paris Independent School District based on their race.
Currently, Reynerson is in the process of filing an administrative complaint with the Department of Education regarding Wallace’s incident.
“If it went the way they claimed, all they have to do is show the video,” said Cherry, referring to the number of video cameras stationed throughout the high school’s hallways.