- October 17, 2021
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Barbers Hill ISD says it took appropriate action after an incident involving some of its students using a racial slur and laughing about it on social media.
A TikTok user shared a video condemning three teens who used the N-word and laughed afterwards, with the caption: “Y’all think this is funny?” One of the teens identified on social media as a student of Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, located about 40 miles east of downtown Houston.
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The post went viral, generating more than 17,000 comments, nearly 200,000 likes and more than 3,000 shares. Barbers Hill ISD said the incident was brought to their attention and was immediately addressed. The district sent the following statement:
The matter was brought to the attention of BHISD school officials in the past several weeks and has been addressed consistent with the limits of BHISD’s legal authority. School administration promptly addressed the situation with the families and students involved, including students who were thought to have received the video. As administrators and parents, we are committed to the welfare of all of our students and members of our community. BHISD has in place social emotional learning programs in grades K-12 designed, among other things, to teach empathy and respect for all students and we will continue our efforts to create an inclusive and safe learning environment.
When asked what disciplinary actions were taken against the students involved, a spokesperson for the district declined to specify citing privacy concerns, but said that “BHISD does not tolerate discriminatory conduct in any activity.
The incident comes more than a year after the Houston-area school district made national headlines when it ordered two students to cut their dreadlocks or face suspension. The district sent also 36 male students to in-school suspension on the first day of school for violating its controversial policy on hair length.
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Monique Welch is a digital reporter for the Houston Chronicle.
Monique reports on the trendiest news within the greater Houston region and across Texas, and occasionally contributes to the Chronicle’s race and identity newsletter, HouWeAre. A native Baltimorean and previous Tampa resident, Monique joined the Chronicle in the summer of 2021 after nearly four years at the Tampa Bay Times where she worked on all things digital, launched the newspaper’s first race and identity newsletter, Regarding Race, and covered local news. Monique holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications Media Studies from Goucher College.
The long-held 10 percent standard — with defendants or their loved ones paying a tenth of the bail amount to a private company — is not gospel anymore in Harris County and likely never was.
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