NAACP: Moss Point Bus Driver Screamed Racial Slur at Elementary Students, District Investigation Under Way
2014/11/20 – (MOSS POINT, Mississippi) The Moss Point-Jackson County NAACP is calling for the removal of a Moss Point bus driver after children claim he screamed a racial slur at them on Monday.
Local NAACP President Curley H. Clark said the incident occurred on Bus 55, a bus that carried elementary school-aged children.
The white male bus driver “was shouting at some students, and he screamed something to the effect of ‘N—– sit down’ to some kids at the back of the bus,” Clark said.
“These are elementary school kids,” he said. “It traumatized some of the little girls, who went home crying to their parents.”
Clark said some parents complained to the district’s transportation director, but that director told them that it was not captured on video.
“They felt like they were getting the brush off,” he said. “They felt that the safety and emotional concerns of their children were being ignored, so they called and asked us to get involved.”
Clark said he investigated and took statements from parents and students. He instructed a parent to present a written report of the incident to Superintendent Maggie Griffin, and that report was submitted Tuesday.
Clark said he has since been contacted by the superintendent’s office and was told “they were aware of the incident and would investigate.”
Griffin released the following statement via email after Clark’s announcement.
“It is a personnel issue, and the Moss Point School District is investigating the incident,” the superintendent said. “Mr. Clark’s statement is inaccurate. We are addressing the incident.”
Clark said he has subsequently learned that this recent episode is not an isolated incident with this particular bus driver.
“There have been more than one occasion where (he) has spewed out racial epithets toward the black children riding bus 55,” he said.
The NAACP is requesting that the school district investigate the racial and safety issues surrounding that bus.
Clark is also calling for “district personnel be held accountable for their action and/or in action regarding the safety of the children in the district,” he said.
Source: April M. Havens
