COTTLEVILLE 鈥 Racist intentions weren鈥檛 behind the noose found hanging from a stall in the men鈥檚 bathroom at the Francis Howell Central High School athletics stadium, the school district said in a statement Saturday.
The man who found the noose during his son鈥檚 football practice Thursday evening disagrees.
鈥淲ho are you to say it鈥檚 not a racial incident when a Black man walks into the bathroom and sees a noose?鈥 Mitchell Long, of St. Charles County, said Saturday.
Long had just brought his 9-year-old son to practice when he went into the bathroom near the field. He saw the noose dangling from one of the stalls. He and another parent took photos, Long said.
He returned to the field and pulled a coach over to show him the pictures. Around 10 p.m. on Thursday, Long said, the high school鈥檚 head football coach, Malach Radigan, called to apologize.
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鈥淭hat was very commendable,鈥 Long said.
On Friday morning, he phoned the high school and was put through to an assistant principal who, he said, was shocked to hear about the incident. Later in the day, Long heard from the principal, Suzanne Leake, who also apologized.
But he was disappointed that the administration hadn鈥檛 reached out to him.
鈥淭here was no urgency from them,鈥 he said. 鈥淒on鈥檛 downplay what we experience.鈥
Leake sent an email to Central High families Friday evening.
鈥淎 noose is a powerful symbol of hate and racially motivated violence; such a symbol has no business in our schools or facilities,鈥 the email said.
The use of the hangman鈥檚 noose as a symbol of intimidation dates to the public lynchings of African Americans that plagued the United States, particularly the South, after the Civil War and into the 20th century.
Zebrina Looney, president of the St. Charles branch of the NAACP, responded in a statement Friday night that the organization is 鈥渄eeply disappointed by the ongoing acts of violence and hate speech鈥 that students of color in Francis Howell School District 鈥渃ontinue to experience.鈥
Less than 7% of the district鈥檚 more than 16,000 students are Black. Tension flared over a decade ago, when parents expressed concerns and outrage that their children when students from Normandy School District were bused to Francis Howell as part of a state Supreme Court decree.
Last summer, the school board voted to revoke a resolution against racism that had been adopted during Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. In December, the board eliminated the Black history and Black literature elective courses from the district鈥檚 three high schools, and then approved revised versions in March.
鈥淭here鈥檚 racism,鈥 said Long. 鈥淚t is what it is.鈥
But racism was not the reason behind the noose, the district said in a statement Saturday.
鈥淎fter extensive conversations and investigation, we do not believe this to be a racially-motivated incident,鈥 read the statement sent by district spokesperson Jennifer Jolls. 鈥淗owever, we understand the symbolism of a noose and the harm it has caused to our community.鈥
Long said that Leake, the school principal, called him late Friday to tell him that the person who hung the noose was 鈥渁 kid in crisis.鈥
鈥淭hey are seeking out help for this student in crisis,鈥 he said he was told.
The district would not confirm whether the identified person was a Francis Howell student.
Long said he is sympathetic to the student but that the district needs to do better by its Black families.
鈥淚t is failing,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e cannot allow for situations like this to go unnoticed.鈥