Michael Eric Dyson Says 6-Year-Old Grandson Was Called N-Word At School

Michael Eric Dyson Says 6-Year-Old Grandson Was Called N-Word At School

Activist Michael Eric Dyson is coming forth with shocking claims involving his young grandson. Dyson says that the 6-year-old boy was called the N-word and threatened while at his local Washington, D.C. elementary school.

Activist, author and Georgetown professor Michael Eric Dyson says he was horrified to learn that his 6-year-old grandson Maxem, who’s in first grade, was reportedly called the N-word and threatened with a gun by a fellow student who is white. According to reports, a spokesman for the D.C. school district confirms that the incident involving Dyson’s grandson did indeed occur and is currently under investigation.

However, the outspoken Dyson is recounting his story on social media and in local news interviews, rightfully expressing his outrage that something like this could happen at school between children who are so young.

Dyson had this to say about the incident:

“He says, ‘I’m going to go home and get my father’s gun and come back and shoot you.’ Unfortunately, this represents for us the deep and abiding roots of white supremacy that are set loose in this country. How can a six-year-old kid know to call his classmate the N-word?”

Shayne Wells, a spokesman for the school district, says that child was brought into the principal’s office after the incident. Meanwhile, school officials are currently determining the appropriate disciplinary action to take against the student and scheduling a meeting with the student’s parents.

D.C. Public Schools also provided a statement:

“DCPS is committed to maintaining safe and welcoming environments for students and staff.  We will provide Mann the support it needs to adequately address this issue and continue to partner with our school communities to ensure meaningful learning and positive interactions occur within all of our school buildings.”

On his Twitter account, Dyson has provided an update regarding the events, revealing that he did indeed meet with the parents of the offending student, but is concerned about the larger issue at hand.

He wrote:

“An update on the situation with my grandson who was threatened with an act of violence and a racial epithet. We — his parents, grandparents, the other child’s parents, school principal, teacher, Superintendent for Instruction, and the police — had a meeting that just ended. The parents and grandparents laid out in no uncertain terms the stakes of the situation — the physical and racial aggression, the individual and institutional culpability, the personal and existential consequences of such a threat to our beloved (grand)son, the responsibility of the school (system) to address such incidents, mechanisms that need to be in place to grapple with such incidents, a culture of white privilege and indifference to the harm of our children of color, and so on — and the administrators were thankfully in no way defensive but offered constructive recommendations to right the situation and address the broader implications of racial hostility and violence throughout the school (system). The parents of the offending child were visibly crushed by their child’s actions, owned up to the horror of what had occurred, pledged to further address their child’s behavior, and to make things right as much as they could. The outcome appears to be a good one for my terrified and vulnerable grandson.”

Dyson continued, adding:

“But what about all those parents of color who don’t have the resources or platform to advocate for their children who are similarly treated? Or for other parents who simply lack the outlets to articulate their grievances or concerns? Please send me your stories, hurts, traumas and concerns — or your stories of overcoming and successfully negotiating such egregious circumstances. I am here for you.”

An update on the situation with my grandson who was threatened with an act of violence and a racial epithet. We — his parents, grandparents, the other child’s parents, school principal, teacher, Superintendent for Instruction, and the police — had a meeting that just ended. (1) pic.twitter.com/BgQyfRvMXj

— Michael Eric Dyson (@MichaelEDyson) May 1, 2019

DCPS also says it tracks the number of hate and discrimination incidents throughout its entire school system regularly.

What do you think of the incident involving Michael Eric Dyson’s grandson? Let us know in the comments!