When A arrived home, he collapsed shortly after getting off the bus. Black described him as incoherent and she immediately took him to the Emergency Room where he was diagnosed with a concussion. She says A told her he was tripped and hit his head.
Black says that when she called the school to tell them what happened, she was informed that A didn’t tell the nurse he hit his head. That in the future, he needs to tell them that he has a head injury and needs concussion testing. He was in second grade at the time.
“He’s a child,” said Black, “I wouldn’t know to say that.” She says the nurse told her she was trained in concussion protocols but still failed to recognize concussion symptoms.
This moment was the culmination of two years of escalated incidents of bullying that the school failed to properly address. In addition to the physical injuries, A also experienced depression and underwent therapy, says Black.
Before HSE, A was a child who looked forward to school. After HSE, he would cry on school days, telling his mom that he “didn’t want to be here anymore.” And now, nearly two years later, Black feels her son was a victim of discrimination on the part of the nearly all-white staff who failed to protect him.
