Suit Claims Black Student w/ Higher GPA Had to Share Valedictorian Title

A black mom in Mississippi has filed a federal lawsuit against her school district, claiming that her daughter was discriminated against when she was forced to be co-valedictorian with a white girl who had a lower GPA.

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The suit, which was filed on Tuesday, claims that the black student, Jasmine Shepard, was awarded co-valedictorian the day before the students were to graduate from Cleveland High School, in Cleveland, Mississippi.  According to the suit, Shepard is the first black valedictorian:

“Prior to 2016, all of Cleveland High School’s valedictorians were white...As a result of the school official’s unprecedented action of making an African-American student share the valedictorian award with a white student, the defendants discriminated against.”

Sherry Shepherd, Jasmine's mom and the woman who filed the suit, seems to think the case will be easy to prove:

“These children have been attending school with each other since middle school...We know the schedule, we know what they take, and we have a good idea where the discrepancy lies.”

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Shepherd, who has started a Justice for Jasmine Facebook page, also claims that her daughter was forced to speak and walk after the white valedictorian did.

The Cleveland School District has dismissed the lawsuit. An attorney representing the district said the students had "identical grade point averages" and that the lawsuit was “frivolous.”

SOURCE: Washington Post