A Texas school district has disciplined students who it said engaged in an online “slave-trading game” and pretended to auction off classmates based on race.
A student from the Aledo Independent School District posted a screen capture of the game on Snapchat. It shows students using a chat labeled “Slave trade,” along with a racial slur, to “trade” students of color.
A student posted “$1 for Chris” and “would be better if his hair wasn’t so bad.”
The school district, which is southwest of Fort Worth, condemned the game and the students’ behavior.
The district said in a statement Monday that it discovered that students from the Daniel Ninth Grade Campus had been engaged in racial harassment and cyberbullying more than two weeks ago “and launched an immediate and thorough investigation that involved law enforcement.”
“The Aledo ISD immediately engaged in conversations and communication with students and the student group that was involved, as well as their parents, and made it clear that statements and conduct that targets a student because of his or her race is not only prohibited but also has a profound impact on the victims,” the school district said.
Mercedes Mayer, the school district’s director of communications, said in an email, “There were disciplinary actions taken in accordance with our policy and the Student Code of Conduct.”
Mayer did not specify how many students were punished or what disciplinary actions were taken.
Parent Ella Bullock told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth, “I was not shocked, honestly, because of the community we live in.”
The district, which says it enrolls 6,400 students, said in its statement that it wants students of color to feel loved and supported.
“There is no room for racism or hatred in the Aledo ISD, period,” it said.
