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"She was a new principal. She's a woman, and she's a minority, I think there was pressure not to make waves," said Black.

Racism and microaggressions at HSE not new

Hamilton Southeastern School District is no stranger to accusations of racism and racial microaggressions. Earlier this year, the school district received bad press over a social media group created by Hamilton students called BlackatHSE. Students and others use the page to post anonymously about their experiences with racism in the school district. It currently has over 2,700 followers. The social media page garnered news attention. In July, nearly a month later, the district released a statement on racism and addressed BlackatHSE directly. "Students' voice is a powerful thing, and we applaud our students who will not tolerate discrimination of any sort in our schools and are using the platform to advocate for change." The district also hired Dr. Erica Buchanan-Rivera as Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer in 2017, three years before the creation of the social media page. Black says she never reached out to Buchanan-Rivera, again because at the time she didn't feel this was a racially motivated issue on the part of the school staff. In hindsight though, she likened Buchanan-Rivera's hiring to the "black friend" trope. Given her experience, she feels that the position was a PR stunt more than a move to make real change. Buchanan-Rivera's hiring happened during the time A was at HSE. And no matter how many phone calls Black made, no matter how many emails she sent, no matter how many times she voiced her concerns, she was brushed off. Even by the school principal. "The principal would never talk to me, either year. He would always refer me to the assistant principal," says Black. She had a similar experience with her daughter's teachers who would only communicate with her through the principal. Black began approaching the issues quietly, discreetly asking for changes. But near the end, she was demanding solutions. When the Assistant Principal told her that there was nothing further to be done, Black had had enough. "I talked to lawyers the day after and was told I didn't have a case. My only choice after that was to take him out of the school," said Black, "We finished out the semester and because he was on cognitive rest, he spent the rest of the semester in the nurse's office — that's when the incidents stopped."

Staying invisible

"A is so afraid of getting in trouble -- and it helps him and harms him," said Black. "He leads a very cautious life because he's super sensitive."