Superintendent: Eastport South Manor HS students disciplined over racist TikTok video

News 12 has learned there were at least two incidents at school during which students posted inappropriate videos to TikTok.

News 12 Staff

Oct 24, 2022, 9:25 AM

Updated 568 days ago

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Several students at Eastport South Manor High School are being disciplined over a TikTok video that featured racial slurs, according to the school superintendent.
News 12 has learned there were at least two incidents at school during which students posted inappropriate videos to TikTok.
One of the videos shows students in a classroom dancing to a song with lyrics that contain racial slurs against Black people, including the N-word, which is used several times.
One user commented, "this is racist," to which the student replied, "that's the point."
The video appeared over the weekend, and a similar situation happened in September.
On Sept. 22, the principal alerted families of a different video, writing, "The posting included an explicit and derogatory song dubbed over a video originally created by our student council."
The principal says the person who posted that video was not from the student council themselves.
A family that alerted News 12 to the most recent video say their mixed-race relative is a student at the school and is bullied all the time. The family says the bullied teenager hasn't been getting any help from administrators.
The student's uncle, also a civil rights attorney, went to the school Monday to try to get answers.
"It's supposed to be an environment that's safe and nurturing and there should be bullying and harassing," Jason Castle says. "And that video really gets to the heart of cyberbullying and harassment."
After News 12 reached out to the school for comment, the TikTok video was taken down.
Parents outside the school say they hope the situation gets addressed and doesn't happen again.
"It's disgusting and it should never happen," says Maya Triple.
The superintendent sent a message to families, which reads in part, "The school district was informed of an inappropriate video circulating social media that featured several Eastport South Manor High School students in a classroom dancing to a song with racially derogatory lyrics. The district immediately conducted an internal investigation into the matter, and the students for the video have been identified. Per our Code of Conduct, the sidebars involved are now facing the appropriate, strict disciplinary action."
The punishment has not been made public, but the civil rights attorney says the consequences for the students' actions should be shared with the public.


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