Family and supporters of a 10-year-old girl who was allegedly the target of racist remarks by another student have been protesting outside an Orange County school. While they say school officials are not treating the incident seriously enough, there were others at the protest unhappy about how the girl’s mom has handled the situation.  

Jasmine Harris claims her daughter, Paris, who is Black, was subjected to a racist comment earlier this month by a fellow student, a 10-year-old Latino boy, at Santiago Elementary School in Santa Ana. 

“The principal called me while I was at work, she told me that at lunch…Paris was just playing with her friends…and this little boy just came up to her, swinging a jump rope at her, trying to hit her, telling her, ‘Go back to work, you slave,’” Harris told KTLA.  

She says that she got even more upset with school administrators when she asked what they planned to do about the situation and officials said they could not tell her what would be done. The 10-year-old girl’s mother also claims that administrators refused to set up a parent and teacher meeting with the boy’s parents.  

“And so, you know, I was like, ‘I want to press charges then. If you guys aren’t going to do anything, I want to press charges for a hate crime and an attempted assault on my daughter,” Harris said.  

Other parents outside the school, who did not want to go on camera, said they were unhappy that Harris put the name of the 10-year-old boy who allegedly made the remarks out on social media during a live stream.  

“They shouldn’t be upset,” Harris said. “I feel like everyone should know his name. Everyone knows my daughter’s name. Everybody should know his name as well.”  

She further defended her choice to name the other student, adding that she didn’t use his last name or list his address on social media.  

In response to the incident, the Santa Ana Unified School District said it has hired an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation and released a statement that read in part: 

“This investigation…aims to ensure the rights of all our students and our families are protected. In the meantime, SAUSD wants to ensure our community that we value the rich diversity in our schools, we will always promote inclusivity, and we continue to support the well-being of all our students.”  

School officials told KTLA that state law prohibits them from saying whether the boy will face any punishment.  

For her part, Harris said she’s pulling her daughter from the school and the district.