The Justice Department announced a settlement agreement with Hawkins County Schools in Tennessee to resolve an investigation into allegations of race-based harassment targeting Black students. The investigation, conducted by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee, found that incidents of harassment created a racially hostile environment. These incidents included a mock “slave auction” involving Black students, the repeated use of racial slurs by white students, and a “monkey of the month” campaign ridiculing Black students.
“No student should endure mock slave auctions or racial slurs meant to invoke a shameful period in our country’s history when Black people were treated as subhuman,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. “Racial harassment undermines a student's ability to feel safe, eliminates any hope for fostering a supportive educational environment and violates the Constitution’s most basic promise of equal protection. The Justice Department remains committed to protecting the civil rights of all students and will ensure that Hawkins County Schools takes all actions necessary to end racial discrimination in its schools.”
“To protect our children and cultivate a successful learning environment, our schools must take complaints of racial harassment and discrimination with the utmost seriousness and address them promptly and effectively,” said U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III for the Eastern District of Tennessee. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office commends the Hawkins County Board of Education for cooperating in the department’s investigation and working to improve its response to complaints of racial harassment and discrimination by reaching a resolution that enhances protections for both students’ constitutional rights and their dignity.”
The department opened its investigation in March 2023 under Titles IV and VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The district fully cooperated during the investigation and pursued an agreement to address the department’s findings.
Under the agreement, Hawkins County Schools will implement significant reforms, including:
- Hiring a compliance officer to oversee race discrimination and harassment complaints;
- Retaining a consultant to support implementing the agreement;
- Creating an electronic reporting portal for managing complaints;
- Updating policies on racial harassment and school discipline;
- Training staff on identifying, investigating, and responding to complaints;
- Informing students and parents about how to report harassment;
- Implementing listening sessions, climate surveys, training events on preventing race discrimination;
- Analyzing discipline data to ensure non-discriminatory enforcement.
Protecting students from harassment is a priority for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. More information is available at www.justice.gov/crt.