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Naugatuck Students And Supporters Rally In Response To Racist Social Posts

Ryan Caron King
/
Connecticut Public
Students from Naugatuck High School, along with some of their parents and supporters, staged a demonstration after racist social media posts from a fellow student were revealed. Nyjahn Wade (above) leads the march from the school to the green.

Students from Naugatuck High School, along with some of their parents and supporters, staged a demonstration in town Wednesday after racist social media posts from a fellow student were revealed.

The posts, which talk about shooting Black people, were written and sent privately two years ago by a then-13-year-old girl. Her father is the Naugatuck police chief and her mother is an assistant principal at Naugatuck High.

Protest organizer Alexis Siggars said she and fellow students don’t feel safe at the school knowing that no action has been taken.

“I don’t think any of our students feel comfortable going to school with this student anymore, or with her mother being our assistant principal,” said Siggars, a senior. “We want people to hear us and understand what we’re going through so that we can come together in unity and just really deal with this together as a community.” 

Parent and Naugatuck High alum Brand Noble says he hopes to see a good resolution to the controversy.

“I hope that the young lady involved and her parents and everybody involved come out on top,” he said. “I hope they get the help they need and then come out of this better. Just ’cause I want them to end up on the right end of this doesn’t mean you don’t get held accountable for what you did.”

The girl’s parents issued a statement earlier this week, apologizing to the community for the posts and saying they intended to hold their daughter accountable.

Credit Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public
/
Connecticut Public
Activist and organizer Keren Prescott of Power Up Manchester said she wore a face shield to this protest after being spat at by a counterprotester during a rally at the Capitol earlier this month.
Credit Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public
/
Connecticut Public
From left, Kamiana Shaw, a sophomore at Naugatuck High School, Shayla Shaw, a junior, and their mom, Amy Shaw, listen as various protesters take turns speaking to the crowd. Students from Naugatuck High School, along with some of their parents and supporters, staged a demonstration after racist social media posts from a fellow student were revealed.

Harriet Jones is Managing Editor for Connecticut Public Radio, overseeing the coverage of daily stories from our busy newsroom.
Ryan Caron King joined Connecticut Public in 2015 as a reporter and video journalist. He was also one of eight reporters on the New England News Collaborative’s launch team, covering regional issues such as immigration, the environment, transportation, and the opioid epidemic.

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