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North Carolina NAACP advocates have broken their silence after a male black student allegedly almost beat to death his Muslim female classmate.
On March 7 Ardrey Kell High School in Charlotte revealed that there was an ‘altercation’ between two students, both 15, inside a classroom.
The NAACP stated that the person accused of the attack was not driven by racial motives. They mentioned that this individual has been threatened with death, even though the FBI did not discover enough proof to confirm that the supposed assault was a hate crime.
The situation has sparked a ‘racial divide’ between the local black and Arab communities, the organization believes.
But the female student and her family stand by their claim that she was brutally assaulted and berated with slurs by the boy, a football player, in a vicious hate crime because of her ethnicity and faith.
‘He called me the N-word and told me to go back to my country,’ the female student, whose name has not been released, said in a statement, according to WCNC.
Photos of the victim, who wears a hijab, after the violent incident show her face bloodied, swollen and bruised.
Jibril Hough of the Islamic Center of Charlotte, an advocate for the girl and her family, said she was nearly ‘beaten to death’ and had to have surgery to fix broken bones in her face. Her eyesight has not yet returned.
‘After his repetitive verbal assault he beat her with several punches to the head and the face,’ Hough said at a March press conference.
The Muslim student’s family has claimed she was attacked because of her religion
On March 7 Ardrey Kell High School in Charlotte confirmed there was an ‘altercation’ between two students, both 15, inside a classroom
‘This beating was so bad that I believe if he had hit her a few more times she may have died.’
‘I hope he gets justice for what he did,’ the female student’s brother said in March. ‘I hope that he sees what he did is wrong.’
He added that his sister had told him about being bullied at school, but that he never thought it would escalate this far.
The boy’s family said in a statement that the female student started the fight and he was only defending himself.
‘This situation has been mischaracterized, as race, culture nor religion played a factor in the altercation,’ they wrote, according to Queen City News.
‘Instead, there was direct incessant bullying by a female student which led to her physically assaulting our son.’
Both students were suspended after the incident, but Hough claimed the girl was only suspended after her family went to the press.
Meanwhile, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) detectives assigned to an FBI task force launched an investigation into the matter.
Corina Mack, the president of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP, said the boy has been threatened since the incident
The department announced they did not have enough evidence to show that the attack was racially or religiously motivated.
They found no signs there was any ‘ethnic animosity’ involved, according to a statement shared on X on April 2.
Hough told DailyMail.com the investigation was not properly conducted.
‘How do you do a thorough investigation without interviewing the victim and as many people as possible inside and outside of the room?’ Hough said.
NAACP advocates speaking on behalf of the teenage football player said he has been subjected to a huge backlash because of the situation.
‘Unfortunately there’s been a slew of misinformation,’ Corina Mack, the president of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP, said at a Monday press conference.
‘Every statement that has been made has caused a racial divide between the black and Arab communities.’
Hough said he disagrees with this sentiment.
‘We cannot give into any false racial narratives being pushed by the NAACP. There is no Muslim-black greater narrative at play here,’ he told DailyMail.com.
Mack, who was joined by Kass Ottley with Seeking Justice Charlotte and black Muslim community leader BJ Murphy, claimed the main reason the boy is being threatened is because of Hough.
‘We do not support anyone taking any type of vengeful acts against the boy and his family. Both sides, including the boy’s, should feel safe and secure in their homes,’ Hough told DailyMail.com.
He said he believes the NAACP has been diverting attention away from the core issue of a young girl being severely harmed.
Ardrey Kell High School in Charlotte, a predominately white school, has made headlines for several racist incidents
The girl’s brother said she told him about getting bullied at school, but he never thought the situation would escalate
‘I think the local NAACP has been misused and hijacked,’ Hough said.
‘They’re supposed to be helping for justice of colored people and our young sister, any other time she would be mentioned “of color” because she is brown.
‘But the president argued to me about the pigmentation of [the girl’s] skin – because she has lighter skin than the boy – arguing implicit bias for the boy’s defense.
‘He happens to be African American. We can’t excuse his actions. A young girl says he said certain things of a racial and religious nature, we cannot excuse those words either.’
He claimed the school, which is predominately white, has a history of racial and religious issues that the district has tried to ‘cover up.’
In 2020, Ardrey Kell’s former principal David Switzer was suspended and eventually resigned after being accused of enabling intolerance at the school, the Charlotte Observer reported.
People urging for him to retire came after a Black Lives Matter ‘spirit rock’ at the school was vandalized.
A petition to have him removed reads: ‘David Switzer is currently and has been the principal at Ardrey Kell High School for the past decade and yet, as he continues to be in a major leadership position at AK, so do the racist tactics.’
Jibril Hough of the Islamic Center of Charlotte, an advocate for her and her family, said she was nearly ‘beaten to death’ and had to have surgery to fix broken bones in her face
Mack was joined by Kass Ottley with Seeking Justice Charlotte (middle) and black Muslim community leader BJ Murphy
‘The racism that occurs at Ardrey Kell does not happen by “coincidence” but it is perpetuated purposefully.’
In 2023, Principal Jamie Brookes issued a statement after threatening social media posts were made against black students, WSOC-TV reported
‘One of your peers thought that it would be funny to create a fake IG page, pretending to be another student, enticing people to the mall area at 7am,’ she wrote, addressing the school’s students.
‘Due to the nature of this post and the fact that this student invited African American students to follow the page, I took it as a potential threat and contacted (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools) and law enforcement.’
Hough said the March 7 attack was just one of many examples of the school trying to conceal institutionalized racism.
‘This has been an attempt to save face by the high school and the school system,’ he reflected on the girl’s situation.
‘But not the girl’s face.’
A Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District (CMS) representative told DailyMail.com they could not comment directly on the March 7 incident due to privacy regulations.
Hough said the incident was not racist but one of violence against a young female student
In 2020 Ardrey Kell’s former principal David Switzer was suspended and eventually resigned after being accused of enabling intolerance at the school
Principal Jamie Brookes emailed both families on March 7, asserting that the school does not tolerate violence
They shared the email sent to both families on the day of the altercation.
It reads: ‘Good morning Ardrey Kell High School families this is Principal [Jamie] Brooks reaching out to inform you about a fight that occurred in your child’s classroom today between two students. A medic was called to evaluate a student’s injuries.
‘This behavior is disruptive to learning and a violation of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Code of Student Conduct.
‘All students involved will be disciplined accordingly. As always, the safety and well-being of our students and staff is our top priority.’
They also shared statements from Chief Operations Officer Tim Ivey, who reiterated the idea the school does not condone violence.
The school district did not respond to a request for comment about the alleged history of covering up violence.
DailyMail.com has reached out to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP for comment.
