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A South Carolina mother is suing her daughter's school district on allegations of racial discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.
According to the Atlanta Black Star, Crystal Dozier recently filed a lawsuit against Horry County School District and three white employees at Green C. Floyds High School on behalf of her 17-year-old daughter, who is Black.
The lawsuit stems from Dozier's daughter wanting to join her high school tennis team last year. Krysten Webster, an English teacher at Green C. Floyds who served as the tennis coach, initially declined to put Dozier's daughter on the team, whose members were all white at the time, the lawsuit alleges.
After the mother intervened, Webster allowed Dozier's daughter to join the team, but she was used by her teammates as "target practice throughout each day's practice," according to the lawsuit.
The 17-year-old reported the racial discrimination to Webster, who called a meeting with Assistant Principal Mary Price during which the tennis coach “got argumentative” and “berated her…disregarded her concerns of race discrimination…attempted to stifle her complaints…and verbally assaulted her,” the lawsuit states.
Dozier later met with Price and Principal Nick Harris, who allegedly claimed her daughter was “aggressive and violent during their earlier meeting.” According to the lawsuit, school officials also “attempted to stifle all complaints of race discrimination” and prevent Dozier and her daughter “from making any complaints to the district, stating they do not allow any race discrimination complaints and that they do not see race at Green C. Floyds High School.”
In September 2023, Dozier reported the alleged racial discrimination in a letter to the Horry County School District and the school board. After sending the letter, Dozier's daughter was allegedly bullied at school by peers and teachers.
Price “allowed the bullying to continue," and Dozier's daughter had to “endure walking down the hallways of the school with teachers saying ‘shame on her’ for having made complaints of racial discrimination," according to the suit.
A district investigation determined there was bias, but claimed Webster “did not know any better.” In January 2024, Dozier withdrew her daughter from the school.
The mother's lawsuit seeks a jury trial to determine damages and remedial action.
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