Missouri Mom Outraged After Daughter Targeted With Racist Meme

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A Missouri mom is rightfully beside herself after her 14-year-old daughter reported she was the target of a racist meme, sent and shared among her classmates.

The meme in question shows a white man hosing a young Black kid with water, with a caption that reads, “Go be a n—-r somewhere else,” according to KMOV 4.  The offensive picture was reportedly airdropped to two students at Hixson Middle School, located directly outside of St. Louis in Webster Groves.

Yolanda Morris wants disciplinary action after her daughter Jada shared the meme with her on Thursday evening. Morris was so incensed that she was reduced her to tears.

“I immediately started crying and started emailing,” Morris said. “I’ve been crying on and off all day, all night. Every time I see the picture, I just immediately start crying because I can’t believe someone would think that was okay to send to my daughter.”

Morris, along with Jada’s father, Shaun Swearengen, attended a closed-door meeting with Principal Grace Lee and an assistant principal last week.

“They couldn’t hold the tears back. They were very apologetic,” Swearengen said in regards to the administrator’s response. “I really feel like they understood kinda what she was going through.”

“Upon learning of what had reportedly happened, the school’s administrators responded immediately,” a statement posted to Webster Grove School District’s official Facebook page reads. “You can be assured that this kind of behavior has no place in our schools and will not be tolerated. We place great value on empathy and respect in our learning environment and have district policies in place that set high expectations for students.”

According to KMOV 4, it’s unclear what disciplinary action was taken as the school has declined to reveal, citing child privacy laws.

Both Morris and Swearengen want the students involved to face suspension, with Morris adding that there has to be better systems in place to safeguard Black schoolchildren in the district.

“I don’t think there’s anything in place that’s going to help Black students in the Webster Groves school district,” Morris said. “The policies they have in place aren’t really enforcing anything.”