An alleged racist rant directed at children is reverberating across a small town on Long Island, and now school officials are investigating what went down.
A Black family in Riverhead says their kids, as young as five years old, were targeted by white teenagers who used slurs and physical violence. The altercation allegedly happened right next to a football game with crowds of people watching.
"I never dreamed my great grandchildren would be subjected to the N-word in 2023," Robert "Bubie" Brown said.
Brown is a lifelong Riverhead resident and deacon at a local church. He is furious about the racial slurs targeting his great-grandchildren.
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"Somethings you try to put behind you, and you think it's behind you and all of a sudden, bam, it's hitting you in the face," Brown told News 4.
The children were at a Riverhead High School football game on Sept. 9. As fans watched the action on the gridiron, Brown's great-grandchildren, ages 5-11, went to the playground nearby when they had a run-in with three teenagers.
"One of the little kids ran up to her and said they pushed AJ down in the dirt," he said.
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Brown said a 14-year-old girl went on a racist and derogatory rant at the child's mother.
"It was heard by a lot of people up in the stands, and the community was appalled and of course the police showed up," a board member said at a Sept. 12 meeting.
The school board condemned the behaviors. The district said it's investigating; reviewing security video, interviewing the two students involved, and multiple witnesses. What disciplinary measures can be taken depends on the investigation.
The district said officials will look at the their racial relations curriculum to see if there's anything they can do to enhance it.
