The College Fix

Won’t answer questions about race, motivations

A noose found in a Missouri high school bathroom is not “racially motivated,” according to the district.

However, the district has not responded to College Fix questions for further information.

Parent Mitchell Long reported finding a noose in a bathroom near the Francis Howell Central High School football stadium last week.

“Wow, are we still doing this, did this really just happen,” Long, who is black, told the media, recounting his reaction.

“Too many of our black and brown babies have those struggles in our schools,” Long told KSDK 5.

But an investigation concluded the suspect involved did not put the noose there as a racist act.

“After extensive conversations and investigation, we do not believe this to be a racially-motivated incident,” the district stated last Friday, according to KDSK 5. “However, we understand the symbolism of a noose and the harm it has caused to our community.”

“The Francis Howell School District will not tolerate hate or racially-motivated violence in our schools or on our campuses,” the district further stated, according to the NBC affiliate. “We will continue to work in partnership with students, staff and community members to nurture an environment where everyone feels welcome, safe, supported and loved.”

Soon after the noose was found, the principal of the high school sent a message to the community.

“I am writing to let you know of a disturbing discovery that is impacting our community. Last evening, administrators were informed that a parent found a noose hanging from a stall in the men’s restroom near the concession stand at Spartan stadium,” Principal Suzanne Leake wrote. “While there were no words or notes to accompany the noose, we are partnering with law enforcement to investigate this as a potential hate crime.”

“Long says school leaders told him that a kid was in a crisis,” First Alert 4 reported.

The district did not respond to voicemails and emails from The College Fix on Tuesday afternoon.

The Fix left voicemails with communications director Jennifer Jolls and spokeswoman Jeanie Smith, asking for the race of the suspect, why the district said it was not racially motivated, and if the suspect was suicidal or had other mental health issues.

The Fix sent a follow-up email to Jolls, Smith, and other listed district media reps Regina DuFaux and Hannah Wickline with the same questions.

The investigation’s results have not placated the NAACP and other local activists who insist racism is at play.

St. Charles County NAACP President Zebrina Looney dismissed the investigation’s results and blamed the school board for having “emboldened racists,” according to First Alert 4.

“St. Charles Branch of the NAACP… is deeply disappointed by the ongoing acts of violence and hate speech that black and brown children in Francis Howell School District continue to experience,” Looney stated after the investigation. “The culture wars that the FHSD board has publicly pursued over the last two years have also served as dog whistles that have emboldened racists in the district who want to try to make school environments unsafe and inhospitable for students of color.”

Last week, the board voted to set “limits on books that normalize alcohol, drug use, profanity, and violence, Fox 2 reported.

The same school district previously paid a critical race theorist from the University of Missouri to “create an African-American history course and consult on racial issues,” The Fix reported in 2021.

MORE: Here are 8 times ‘nooses’ on campus turned out to be hoaxes

IMAGE: Mitchell Long via KDSK News/YouTube. Red arrow and circle added by The College Fix.

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