Sixth grader threatened with racist note: ‘You Don’t Belong Here “N**ger”’
By Naturally Moi
Authorities in Indiana are investigating racial threats made against a sixth grader who attends Concord Intermediate School.
NyZeria Neely has been a student at Concord schools for years and never expected to become the target of racist peers.
“I never expected this to hap-pen in sixth grade,” she told WSBT 22.
NyZeria says a classmate called her the N-word once, then on another occasion she found a note in her locker telling her to watch her back. About a week later, there was another note left in her locker, again calling NyZeria the N word, and telling her that she doesn’t belong.
NyZeria says, “I was irritated and aggravated. It was just depressing.”
The girl spoke with the principal about the note but was told not to worry about it.
“A couple minutes after that he called me down to his office and we talked about it. He told me not to worry about the note because it was just words. But, I felt like it was more than just words,” NyZeria recalled.
NyZeria’s father, Avonn Pratcher, feels that school officials failed his daughter by not taking her complaint seriously.
“I feel that my child shouldn’t be going through this,” he told the station.
NyZeria’s mother, Gina Neely, says she’s been trying to get the district to take action ever since the first incident.
Neely says she’s gone to the school so much to meet with school officials that eventually she was banned from the school. She moved her kids to Elkhart Community Schools.
“A child can’t learn in an environment where she doesn’t feel comfortable,” she says.
NyZeria says she’s trying hard not to allow the racial harassment to dampen her spirits.
“I just try to keep my head up and stand tall,” she says.
“We want every child to have the best possible education in a safe learning environment,” said the superintendent of Concord schools in a statement.
