USAToday.com--A Minneapolis woman has launched a class-action lawsuit against her former high school for racial discrimination after students there celebrated 'Wednesday Wigger Day' during the school's spirit week.
While the event was not officially sanctioned, the lawsuit alleged it was widely practiced and that authorities were well aware of it.
The lawsuit describes the term 'wigger' as "a pejorative slang term for a white person who emulates the mannerisms, language and fashions associated with African-American culture." It's meant as a portmanteau of the words "white" and the pejorative term for black people, 'n-----.'
Quera Pruitt, a young black woman, attended Red Wing High School in Minneapolis, Minn., between 2008 and 2009. During that time, the school council held an annual spirit week, where students would don costumes based on specific themes. Sept. 30 was officially called 'Tropical Day', but the student population called it Wigger Day.
"The students who participated in Wigger or Wangsta day wore clothes that, from their perspective, mimicked black culture. These costumes included oversized sports jerseys, low-slung pants, baseball hats cocked to the side, and 'doo rags' on their heads. Some of the students displayed gang signs," reads the lawsuit filed on July 29.
The suit names the school principal, the school board superintendent, the school board, and a number of unnamed teachers and administrators as defendants, all of whom Pruitt alleges knew about Wigger Day and did nothing to stop it.
What's more, the lawsuit alleges that Pruitt and her mother complained to school officials about the event, to no avail.
As a result, Pruitt says she suffered from depression and loss of sleep, and was forced to quit a number of school activities. For her, school was a "hostile environment."
"Ms. Pruitt chose to not participate in her school's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration because she felt the celebration was a farce in light of the school district's failure to prevent or adequately remediate the conduct that took place on Wigger Day," it reads.
Pruitt's lawyer, Joshua Williams, is seeking damages to the tune of at least $75,000, alleging the school neglected to provide the plaintiff with an educational atmosphere free of racial discrimination.
QMI Agency has contacted Red Wing principal Beth Brogen and school board superintendant Karsten Anderson for comment, but has yet to hear back.
Posted By: Siebra Muhammad
Thursday, August 4th 2011 at 12:28PM
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