NH Students Allegedly Violate Civil Rights Acts: Where Do Schools Draw The Line?
- 24joeh
- Oct 7, 2022
- 3 min read
Two teens attending John Stark Regional High School in Weare, N.H. were recently accused of violating a black student's civil rights. The teens are two unnamed seventeen-year-olds; the black student also remains unnamed. The event took place on April 20 of the previous school year. The teens are accused of writing racial slurs such as, “Blacks stand no chance”, the name of the white supremacist group “Ku Klux Klan”, threatening messages towards another black student, as well as drawing swastikas on the walls of the school bathroom.
The Civil Rights Unit of the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office filed an enforcement action against the teens, accusing them of violating the civil rights of a black student, as well as vandalism and destruction of school property. The ruling is being made by Hillsborough County Superior Court. If convicted, the teens will face a fine of up to $5,000.
Similar acts of racial insensitivity have happened at New Hampshire High Schools. In 2018, there was a case of two Dover High School teens singing a racist rendition of the famous Christmas Carol, “Jingle Bells”. The two teens were given an assignment to create a jingle about an event that happened during the Reconstruction Period after the Civil War. This event actually caused national outrage when a video of the teens surfaced online. In the video the teens can be heard singing, “KKK, KKK, Let’s kill all the blacks.” Other students can also be heard laughing in the background.
Minority students at Dover High School make up less than 5% of the population. At John Stark, minority students make up about 10% of the student population. In New Hampshire alone, minorities make up less than 12% of the population, according to the 2020 consensus.
Schools should be a place where all students feel safe and comfortable. Even those that make up a small percentage of the population. Similar incidents will continue to happen until New Hampshire schools step up to teach kids about racism, and stop allowing students and staff to get away with racist remarks. Students and teens also need to step up. At this stage in the game, many of these teens know that what they are doing is wrong. I’ve noticed that many people in New Hampshire don’t know most of these events happen. It’s almost like because the state is so small, people think we’re exempt from big stories and events such as the ones stated above. This serves as a reminder that no state or community is exempt from racism.
How many times will minority students have to report these incidents before people take the steps to improve their behavior? How severe does the action have to be? If these incidents get swept under the rug, where will schools draw the line?
Works Cited:
Brice-Saddler, Michael. “'Let's Kill All The Blacks': School Investigates Students' Racist
Rendition of 'Jingle Bells'.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 4 Dec. 2018,
Garcia, Sandra E. “High Schoolers Sing K.K.K. Song in Class, and Teacher Gets Put on Leave.”
The New York Times, The New York Times, 4 Dec. 2018,
GRADY, EILEEN. “Weare Teenagers Accused of Violating Civil Rights of a Black Student.”
Concord Monitor, Concord Monitor, 20 Sept. 2022,
Klein, Asher. “2 Teens Charged in Racist Vandalism Targeting Black Student at NH High
School.” NBC Boston, NBC10 Boston, 20 Sept. 2022, https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/2-teens-charged-racist-vandalism-targeting-black-student-at-nh-high-school/2839808/.
Press, The Associated. “New Hampshire Teens Accused of Carving Race-Motivated Messages at
School.” WMUR, WMUR, 21 Sept. 2022,
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