Lowell Class President The Target Of Racist Social Media Posts
LOWELL (CBS) - It was one of the highest points in Anye Nkimbeng's teenage life. He won the election. He was named Lowell High School Senior Class President. "I was excited," he says. "I was celebrating with my friends. I texted my mom and all that stuff."
Then came the messages, popping up on social media. "F on black people. He will never be a good president. He can't speak English...I'm not going to lie. I was hurt," said Nkimbeng. One of his best days quickly became one of his worst when he saw the tweets, texts, and posts with the "N' word. "Rule out blacks," said one post. Another said, "Imagine him doing your graduation speech."
It has led to six students being suspended, and Lowell Police say they're investigation could even lead to criminal charges. "They...went out of bounds, and did things that now they all regret very much, but they can't take it back," said Lowell School Superintendent Salah Khelfaoui. "Once you say it especially in today's age of electronic media, it just flies. It's all over."
But things have turned around within a matter of days. When students spilled out of school Friday, some wore pins that said, "Anye for president." Friends and strangers rallied around him louder than ever before. It seems he has come out on top. "He was elected by his peers and he's a very strong student," said Assistant Superintendent Jeannine Durkin.
"My first thing to start with the school, is to bring the class together," said Nkimbeng. "People all over, they're saying, 'Look at Lowell High.' So I'm trying to bring us together knowing that, yes we might have failed right now. But we're going to get through this, and once this is over, we're going to be remembered as one of the best classes to ever graduate Lowell High."
Late Friday, Anye's mom, Khien Awasom-Nkimbeng, attended a meeting with the parents of the students accused of verbally attacking her son with racial slurs.
"It was difficult," Khien said. "We all cried, we all laughed. We actually worked on healing."
She says the only people who can fix the problem are the students' parents.
"Hope, hope, hope the children learn from this," Khien says. "Hope the parents learn from this."
"Forgiveness is pure," she continued. "We don't hold anything in our hearts. We need to be able to learn from this and move forward."
WBZ-TV's Christina Hager and Julie Loncich contributed to this report.