Tennessee Students' Racist Threats On Group Chat Under Investigation

In a disturbing incident, a group of students of a school in Brownsville, Tennessee, allegedly made racist exchanges on a private group chat, where they made threats against one or more black people — including the phrase "hang n------ lovers" and "make an example out of them." Following this, the Haywood High School (HHS) authorities launched a full investigation into the incident.

The matter came to light when three former and one current student shared screenshots of the private group chat, which they claimed took place among white Haywood High School students, BuzzFeed News reported. An alumnus of the school, Kyler Douglas, received the snap shots of the chat from a student who is currently studying in the school and shared the images of the texts on his Facebook page two weeks ago. Douglas said that the students who made these comments were members of the school's baseball team.

He also alleged that when the authorities were made aware, they asked the students who sent the messages to write a 10-page essay as punishment. Talking about the same, the associate superintendent of the Haywood County school district, Art Garrett, said the students were given the punishment as part of an ongoing investigation.

"Once the investigation is completed, appropriate action will be taken based on the findings and following school board policy," Garret said.

In a statement posted on the school's Facebook page, the superintendent of the school, Joey Hassell, said: "I have requested a detailed report of the investigation to date from the HHS administration. I have also been in communication with Chief Diebold and he has consulted with the District Attorney's office on the content of the message. Based on review of the DA's office, it is my understanding that there will be no criminal charges; however, the school district will review the findings of the HHS investigation and determine what actions will be taken. A thorough review will occur."

"Our job is to educate and protect all students. Hatred, racism, and bigotry have no place in our school district. Please know that we are cooperating with the Brownsville Police Department to ensure that we have a safe, orderly learning environment for our students," he added.

According to the report in Buzzfeed, students, parents and members of the community protested Monday demanding necessary action to punish the students responsible for the act and to ensure protection for those who were threatened.

According to a release issued on the school's Facebook page, Hassell confirmed that an in-depth investigation into the allegations was launched and that it would continue for the whole of the week. He said that the investigation was fully supported by the Haywood County Board of Education. According to the statement, the investigation would include both — the ones who made the posts and also those who were aware of the posts but did not report.