From The Tribune staff reports
BIRMINGHAM – Attorney Richard A. Rice and retired Judge U.W. Clemon have teamed up to file a lawsuit on behalf of Marvin and Kenya Marshall who are the parents of a 13-year-old black male who was expelled from Prince of Peace Catholic School.
The incident involves the posting of a video on social media. According to the complaint, a Latino student is seen in the video referring to the 13-year-old black male student by stating, “One of my n—–s escaped my slave house. I gotta go find him. Please help me find him.”
The complaint said Mrs. Marshall, the 13-year old’s mother, first reported the incident on October 3. Mrs. Marshall also noted that she had previously reported similar incidents to the school administration.
She posted the video to her personal Facebook account and the video went viral. School administrators requested that Mrs. Marshall remove the video and she agreed to do so. Ultimately, Mrs. Marshall’s 13-year old son was expelled from the private school due to this incident and the posting of the video to the mother’s Facebook account.
“The child’s mother posted the video as a cry for help because school administrators did not take proper action to protect the 13-year-old,” Richard Rice said. “Not only is this student the victim of a cruel video, but he has also been further victimized after being expelled from school for a situation he did not create,” Rice added.
A federal lawsuit was filed by Rice and Clemon on October 15, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Case No. 2:18-cv-01689. The Plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages as well as preliminary and permanent injunctive relief that would permit the 13-year-old student to return to Prince of Peace Catholic school.
