Video With Racist Hate Speech Led To Fight At Quincy High School

Quincy MA

10 November, 2021

2:18 PM

Description

QUINCY, MA — A video containing racist hate speech led to a fight between two Quincy High School students on Tuesday afternoon, Quincy Public Schools Superintendent Kevin Mulvey said. Though the video was created over a year ago and outside of school, Mulvey said it recently circulated among students via social media, leading to a physical altercation involving its creator and another student at the end of the school day Tuesday. Many students and staff members witnessed the fight, Mulvey said, and he called it "extremely disturbing to the entire school community." "Today's altercation is the result of students' ability to communicate impulsively and without the maturity to understand the consequences of their actions," Mulvey said in a letter to the school community. Quincy High School staff and personnel from Walker Therapeutic will host community forums for parents and guardians to discuss the incident on Nov. 12 at 3 p.m. (virtually) and on Nov. 15 at 5 p.m. at Quincy High School. The forums are immediate responses to the incident, Mulvey said, and he said the school will continue to work with students through "community building, health education and interventions and peer mentoring." "While identifying the issues of racism and hate speech are easily done, the more difficult work is to address the root causes of these conflicts and support the students and staff affected," Mulvey said in his letter. "There are clearly issues with culture and climate that require collaboration with outside resources and strategic planning in order to move forward with reinforcing our schools as safe and supportive environments."