Deplorables are getting younger and younger.
Source: SOPA Images / Getty
Jamar Medor was minding his business in class when a fellow Fairfield Warde High School student took and posted a picture of Jamar to Snapchat. The caption about the 16-year-old Black student said, “Why is there a n***** in my homeroom? Why is he not in chains?”
( function() {
var func = function() {
var iframe = document.getElementById(‘wpcom-iframe-e595360817b85f9b748d36f20fb4a2f9’)
if ( iframe ) {
iframe.onload = function() {
iframe.contentWindow.postMessage( {
‘msg_type’: ‘poll_size’,
‘frame_id’: ‘wpcom-iframe-e595360817b85f9b748d36f20fb4a2f9’
}, “https://embeds.go.ione.nyc” );
}
}
// Autosize iframe
var funcSizeResponse = function( e ) {
var origin = document.createElement( ‘a’ );
origin.href = e.origin;
// Verify message origin
if ( ’embeds.go.ione.nyc’ !== origin.host )
return;
// Verify message is in a format we expect
if ( ‘object’ !== typeof e.data || undefined === e.data.msg_type )
return;
switch ( e.data.msg_type ) {
case ‘poll_size:response’:
var iframe = document.getElementById( e.data._request.frame_id );
if ( iframe && ” === iframe.width )
iframe.width=”100%”;
if ( iframe && ” === iframe.height )
iframe.height = parseInt( e.data.height );
return;
default:
return;
}
}
if ( ‘function’ === typeof window.addEventListener ) {
window.addEventListener( ‘message’, funcSizeResponse, false );
} else if ( ‘function’ === typeof window.attachEvent ) {
window.attachEvent( ‘onmessage’, funcSizeResponse );
}
}
if (document.readyState === ‘complete’) { func.apply(); /* compat for infinite scroll */ }
else if ( document.addEventListener ) { document.addEventListener( ‘DOMContentLoaded’, func, false ); }
else if ( document.attachEvent ) { document.attachEvent( ‘onreadystatechange’, func ); }
} )();
Jamar did not know the unidentified classmate who was arrested the same day for breach of peace and racial harassment. Local school officials said they do not publicly disclose disciplinary action against students. Judith Medor, Jamar’s mother, told ABC that the student was suspended for 10 days and there will be a hearing about his future at the school. Nearly 30,000 people, including over 1,000 from Fairfield, signed an online petition to join Judith in demanding that the school expel the racist bully.
The incident took place in Fairfield County, one of the wealthiest parts of the country. Despite Fairfield Warde only having 3 percent Black students, Jamar said this was his first encounter with such blatant racist violence. Unfortunately, this traumatizing experience was not the last for the Medor family. Just days after the Snapchat incident, Jake Medor, Jamar’s younger brother, received a video call from a group of Fairfield Ludlowe High School students using racist slurs. School district officials report that they have already investigated the second incident and took appropriate actions.
Fairfield Warde High School officials announced that they will make counselors available in the wake of this harassment and work on long-term plans that foster unity. While leadership is working on racial unity, this family and other Black students in the community bear the brunt of this violence. Jamar no longer feels comfortable attending school and his mother fears for his safety among classmates who fantasize about him in shackles. Judith Medor is prepared to fight this intimidation and harassment with civil action and has also reached out to a local NAACP chapter for support.
As schools continue to reopen, Covid-19 is not the only threat to students’ safety. Several Black children like Ma’Khia Bryant and Mikayla Miller died after experiences of escalating bullying, assaults, and social media harassment. Recent legislative attacks on Critical Race Theory in the classroom are attacks on the safety and success of Black students. Our children deserve to thrive and we won’t settle for anything less.
