WLS -- A woman who told ABC7 her son was the victim of a racist Craiglist ad in Naperville said she had "smothered" her son with kisses, told him he was perfect his whole life and taught him about his skin color. But with one post, all of that effort was wiped away. I'm hurt for my baby, most importantly, and I'm just hurt that part of my son's innocence is gone now.
A Naperville Central High School student faces felony hate crime charges after reportedly offering an African American student at his high school, now identified as Wallace's son, up for sale in a Craigslist ad last week. The student posted the ad with a photograph of the victim and a caption that said "Slave for sale Naperville " and included a racial slur, the DuPage County State's Attorney's office has said.
The student charged and the victim were teammates on the school's wrestling team. Wallace told ABC7 she wished the school had called police sooner. District Superintendent Dan Bridges said the issue needs to be addressed, and Naperville and their schools strive to be better. He said they welcome everyone, no matter their race, but community members insist the district has to do more with the ongoing issue of racism in schools.
Naperville School District hosted a diversity and inclusion forum Thursday at Naperville City Hall with community members, teachers, staff, parents and students. The focus of the discussion was on an apparent uptick in racism in the west suburb. Rakeda A. Leaks, executive director of diversity and inclusion for Naperville School District One of the main topics discussed Thursday was the apparent increasing presence of racial slurs in Naperville schools, especially elementary schools. The meetings Thursday morning and night were planned prior to the reported incident at Naperville Central, and also came on the heels of an incident at Buffalo Wild Wings in October where a group of parents and kids said they were told to move tables because a customer didn't want to sit near black people.
A Naperville gas station employee was also fired earlier this year after a video showed him questioning Hispanic customers' citizenship. People at the meetings pledged to keep talking and listening. Welcome, Mickey. Manage MyDisney Account. Log Out. Mother of Naperville student targeted in racist Craigslist ad speaks out 'Part of my son's innocence is gone,' she says.
