South Carolina Lawyers Weekly
Issue Date: 12/28/2009
Williamsburg County schools settle with students over same-race discrimination
by Fred Horlbeck
EXCERPT:
COLUMBIA, SC -- Two Williamsburg County students and members of their family have reached a $150,000 settlement in what may be the first Title VI lawsuit based on claims of intra-racial discrimination in South Carolina public schools.
'Acting white'
Proving intra-racial discrimination was a matter of portraying the environment cultural and racial at the students' respective schools, Kobrovsky said.
Both students were African-American, and so was most of the elementary school's student body, according to Kobrovsky. Most students were also black at the high school that her uncle attended.
The problem was the culture of rural Williamsburg County, he said.
"You have a culture where to act like you want to do well in school is considered acting white. And that is part of why we're saying that it was racial, even though the students were all of the same race because they weren't acting how the others thought they should be acting as members of that race," Kobrovsky said.
The uncle testified that racial separation in the county generally meant white students attended private schools while black students attended public schools.
At the public schools, he said, fitting in meant not being what his family was: "churchy," "upright" and wanting education, as another witness put it, according to a trial transcript.
"You see, it's a crime to act white, or it's a crime to be white," the uncle testified.
Harassment, he testified, made him feel that "we are just dumb, we're just not people, we're undergraded, we're degraded, and we're not even supposed to be in this world."
That testimony was the key to the settlement, Kobrovsky said.
"I think the most compelling part was his, and that's, frankly, why it's settled after he testified," Kobrovsky said.
Settlement Report
Brief statement of the claim: The plaintiffs claimed retaliation by public school district against parents and students for complaining about a racially hostile educational environment, in violation of Sect. 601 of Title VI of Chapter 21 of Title 42 of the Civil Rights Act, subchapter V, which prohibits the allowance of a racially hostile educational environment in schools and programs receiving federal financial assistance and provides for a private cause of action for such violations. The U.S. Department of Education, pursuant to 59 Fed. Reg. at 11449, defines a racially hostile educational environment as "one in which racial harassment is severe, pervasive or persistent so as to interfere with or limit the ability of an individual to participate in or benefit from the activities or privileges provided by the recipient"; 42 USC Sect. 1983 claims against superintendent and school principal; defamation, invasion of privacy, abuse of process.
Principal injuries: Physical illness, emotional distress and humiliation
Tried or settled: Settlement of $150,000 after second day of trial
County and court where tried or settled: U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina Florence Division
Case names and numbers: Gasque, et al. v. Williamsburg County School District et al., Civil Action No. 4:07-CV-01757-RBH; and Gasque v. Williamsburg County School District, et al., Civil Action No. 4:07-CV-1765-RBH.
Date concluded: Oct. 27, 2009
Name of judge: U.S. District Judge Robert Bryan Harwell
Amount: $150,000 for all claims
Insurance carrier: Williamsburg County School District, self-insured, and State Insurance Revenue Fund
Expert witnesses: None
Attorney for plaintiffs: Lawrence C. Kobrovsky (Charleston) for constitutional law claims and Stephen F. DeAntonio, of DeAntonio Law Firm (Charleston), for defamation and invasion of privacy claims.
Submitted by: Lawrence C. Kobrovsky
© Dolan Media Newswires 2010.
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