‘Go Pick Cotton’: Michigan Parents Sue School District Over Racial Harassment Of Black Students

The Baylis children were reportedly called racial slurs and subjected to racist rhetoric in their own school.

The parents of two Black middle school students in Portage, Michigan, filed a federal lawsuit against the school district and the administration of Portage West Middle School last week. The Baylis family’s lawsuit alleges that their children were racially harassed by their peers and a school bus driver, while the administrators repeatedly failed to take action to address the behavior despite it being brought to their attention numerous times.

The lawsuit was filed recently in the U.S. District Court and claims that the Portage Public School District’s lack of action allowed for an environment where racial harassment is pervasive and allowed by the staff. According to the lawsuit, the two children were bullied with racist rhetoric so severely to the point that Adam and Nakia Baylis, their parents, had to remove them from their school, Portage West Middle School, for their well-being.

The lawsuit names West Middle School Principal Jason Messenger, Assistant Principal Sidney Bailey, school counselor Becky Moon, and school bus driver Bob Hayworth as defendants.

The Baylis family alleged that they provided evidence of the instances of harassment to the school administration, but school officials failed to take necessary action at every turn.

The Baylis family described several meetings with school administrators between the span of September and November 2023, and each one resulted in the staff allegedly failing to end the harassment. The Baylis were reportedly told that the district at large didn’t have any policies that specifically combated racial harassment, despite Portage’s 5% Black population. The lawsuit reads, “The administration admitted during the meeting that there were no specific policies in place to address racial harassment. This lack of specific policies left both [students], as well as other students of color, vulnerable to ongoing harassment without adequate protection or clear processes for addressing such behavior.”

The lawsuit describes some of the unsettling incidents that the Baylis family faced at Portage West Middle School. It detailed multiple instances of other students calling them racial slurs and telling them to “go pick cotton.” The harassment escalated online as well, where they were sent derogatory messages on social media.

One particular incident on Halloween disturbingly described a school bus driver chasing the Baylis children through their neighborhood while hurling racial slurs at them.

One piece of evidence included in the lawsuit shows a photo of a white student in blackface that was posted to social media. It included the caption, “I made myself into a n***er.”

Other evidence includes photos of racist messages sent to the Baylis children, including images of Ku Klux Klan members.

Adam and Nakia said the racial harassment left her children traumatized.

Nakia is also a social justice advocate, and she told Meteo Times that pursuing legal action was an incredibly important step in making sure that Black children in Portage in the future are protected.

She said, “Our goal in pursuing this case is not to shame others, but to utilize our privilege in the pursuit of justice — not only for our family but for all families who may not have the same resources and have faced similar challenges within the district.”

She added, “It is regrettable that ensuring a safe and equitable learning environment for every student, regardless of race or ethnicity, requires such measures.”