Civil Rights
Black Students in Harper Lee’s Hometown File Race Bias Suit
Posted May 28, 2008, 09:25 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against a junior high school in Harper Lee’s hometown of Monroeville, Ala.
Lee used the town as inspiration for the setting in her book To Kill a Mockingbird about a lawyer’s battle against discrimination in a small town, the Associated Press reports. The Monroeville courthouse is host to an annual play based on the novel.
The class action suit contends black students at the school are subjected to racial slurs, harsh punishment and segregated classrooms, according to a press release.
The action contends black children are disciplined more severely than whites for the same behavior. It also alleges school officials have used the N-word to refer to black students and described them as “filthy trash.”
Monroe County school lawyer Mark Boardman told AP the suit’s allegations are baseless.