A black middle schooler in Texas was made to drink his white peers urine at a sleepover, according to the boy's mother who is demandin...
A black middle schooler in Texas was made to drink his white peers urine at a sleepover, according to the boy's mother who is demanding criminal charges be brought against them and their parents.
During a Friday press conference in front of Haggard Middle School in Plano, SeMarion Humphrey's mother - Summer Smith - said that she found out about the incident two weeks after it took place over the weekend of February 14.
The mother's 13-year-old son, who is in the eighth grade, was seen on disturbing video drinking what appears to be urine as his classmates snicker at the scene.
SeMarion was in attendance for Friday's press conference, occasionally needing to be consoled as he wept over the bullying, which his mom said had been happening on and off for two years.
SeMarion Humphrey's mother - Summer Smith - said that she found out about the incident two weeks after it took place over the weekend of February 14. Smith speaks during a Friday press conference as SeMarion (circled) listens
Smith expressed annoyance that the Plano Independent School District repeatedly told her that 'there was nothing that they could do' as it was not a school issue, even after she called the superintendent on Tuesday - who she says has not returned her calls.
'I found out it had happened two weeks prior,' Smith said at the conference, 'that the videos had been shared with pretty much the entire school.
She continued: 'The school was laughing at him. Why is that not a school issue? We're passing around a video, during school hours. How is that not a school issue? The boys are on the football team, how is that not a school issue?'
SeMarion even went to his football coaches to tell the bullying that had been happening for months on end, his mother claimed, only to be dismissed and told 'boys will be boys,' that he needed to have a 'tougher skin,' and that 'everybody is not going to like you.'
In the brief clip, a white student can be seen forcing his black peer - identified as SeMarion - to drink what looks to be urine from a small cup. Others can be heard snickering as SeMarion is made to drink from the cup again
The Next Generation Action Network shared messages SeMarion sent one of the students on Snapchat where he chastised the group for making fun of him for taking medication and for saying that women should be 'raped'
Smith asserted that the taped assault was 'premeditated,' describing how one of the boys befriended her son for the hopes of getting him to the sleepover party.
'I told the principal this boy befriended my child, he sought him out,' she said. 'He spent several weeks with him, just the two of them, which led up to the birthday party sleepover where it was premeditated and obvious that SeMarion was only invited for their pure entertainment.
Smith continued: I want to also add that after it happened, he didn't know, he was sleep. In the video when you can see him kind of sitting, he was sleep. They woke him up out of his sleep and said "You stopped breathing, you got to drink this."'
Smith asserted that the taped assault was 'premeditated,' describing how one of the boys befriended her son for the hopes of getting him to the sleepover party
'How horrible must you be? This is not a prank. This is beyond bullying. You are evil. They are evil.'
The mother shared that she struggled to watch the video initially, finally deciding to share the footage after hearing the boys collectively laugh at her son.
'They threatened him not to tell,' Smith said, turning to SeMarion to tell him how proud she was that he came to tell her what happened.
Smith, who has lived in Plano since 2015, said that 'it hurt' when the school district expressed that its hands were tied in the situation. She added that she leapt into action not only for SeMarion, but also for the other students who have faced similar issues in the district.
'I am here to fight for him because he is mine and the way I wanted to fight, the way I would have fought, that wasn't going to get me anywhere,' she declared.
Following the mother's remarks, KC Fox - a crisis strategist for the family - fielded questions as to why Smith would let SeMarion attend the party.
The strategist said Smith learned after the fact that the other boys had been invited, telling reporters that the 'boy who befriended was not the boy who initiated the assaults.'
The boys were called over after the fact,' Fox shared, adding the group was invited the night of Feb. 15.. They were never supposed to be there from the perspective of Mom and SeMarion and when SeMarion became aware that they were going to be there, he did raise a red flag and say that, "These are not my friends. These are not the people that I want to be hanging out with," and he was again coached and coerced into "Oh no it is going to be fine."'
Fox continued: 'Which is why I feel there are so many disgusting elements to this, that kids would go to these lengths to do something horrible to a classmate.
The strategist added that it was 'disheartening to hear that there was a lack of parental diligence on her part,' asserting that the notion was 'complete bulls**t.'
Kim T. Cole, an attorney representing the family, told local reporters that they were seeking criminal charges against the teens and their parents, along with any other involved party.
'These are not misdemeanors these are felonies,' Cole said of assault against SeMarion.
The Plano Police Department in Texas shared in a Thursday press release that a school resource officer at Haggard Middle School began investigating the incident on March 3 after receiving a call from the boy's family.
The school resource officer was now working with a juvenile detective on the case, police added. Together, they'll 'conduct a full and thorough investigation in an effort to identify any and criminal offenses that might have occurred during and prior to this incident.'
The school resource officer at the middle school (pictured) is working with a juvenile detective on the case
SeMarion was in attendance for Friday's press conference, occasionally needing to be consoled as he wept over the bullying, which his mom said had been happening on and off for two years
While police would not provide further information about the events that transpired, viral social media posts and a release from the Next Generation Action Network indicate that the assaults centered around racist remarks and physical abuse with the urine.
In the brief clip, a white student can be seen forcing his black peer - identified as SeMarion - to drink what looks to be urine from a small cup. Others can be heard snickering as SeMarion is made to drink from the cup again.
A Friday release from the Next Generation Action Network alleged that students at the middle school had been bullying SeMarion for a year.
'Despite receiving numerous complaints of SeMarion being bullied, the coaches, principal, and Plano Independent School District officials did nothing,' the group said in the release.
One of the students recently and 'deliberately' befriended SeMarion, inviting him over for a sleepover from February 12 to February 14. The group shared that during the sleepover, the white students recorded themselves slapping, punching and shooting the preteen with a BB guns.
'To date, Plano ISD has done nothing. Neither has Plano Police,' the group added in their release. 'The lack of response from local officials is not surprising just days from where another black teen was just harassed and falsely arrested by Plano Police.
'We are calling for a federal investigation into this racially motivated hate crime.'
The group shared that a press conference was scheduled later for Friday.
The Next Generation Action Network shared messages SeMarion sent one of the students on Snapchat where he chastised the group for making fun of him for taking medication and for saying that women should be 'raped'. They also shared a grab from Instagram Live, where one of the students called SeMarion a 'white wash blackie.'
A district spokesperson shared that school administrators were aware of the allegations and working with law enforcement.
They also shared a grab from Instagram Live, where one of the students called SeMarion a 'white wash blackie'
'Our district does not tolerate or condone bullying or harassing behavior, and is taking prompt and remedial action to address concerns,' Lesley Range-Stanton explained to the Dallas Morning News.
Range-Stanton added that the incident happened off-campus and was not school-related.
But according to Kim T. Cole, an attorney for SeMarion's family, additional video evidence further incriminates the group of boys.
'In my opinion, not only did they torture this kid, but they filmed it and were proud of it and shared it on multiple social media sites making fun of him,' she said.
She added that the boy's mother is 'horrified' by the urine incident and the lack of response she has had when informing school officials about the bullying
'Her heart is breaking for her child,' Cole added.
After class was dismissed Thursday, parents and community members gathered in protest and could be heard chanting 'Black Lives Matter' and 'No bullies in Plano.'
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