Kymberly L. Wimberly, 18, filed the lawsuit last week in federal court in Pine Bluff against McGehee School District, its superintendent and the high school principal.
Wimberly, who graduated in May, got all “A’s” and just one “B” while at McGehee Secondary School, the suit says.
“Even though she had the highest Grade Point Average (G.P.A.) in her class, Defendants forced Wimberly to share the title of Valedictorian with a white student,” the lawsuit says. “Defendants’ actions were part of a pattern and practice of school administrators and personnel treating the African-American students less favorably than Caucasian students.”
Blacks represent about 46 percent of the 500-plus student body at McGehee Secondary, according to the lawsuit.
A message left with the office of Superintendent Thomas Gathen, who is black, was not immediately returned Monday evening.
The lawsuit, first reported on Monday by Courthouse News Service, says Wimberly’s mother, Molly Bratton, overheard other school staff talking in the copy room on May 10 that Wimberly’s status as valedictorian might cause a “big mess.” (Wimberly had a baby during her junior year, according to court documents.)
The next day, Principal Darrell Thompson went into Bratton’s office and told her that he had decided to name a white student, who had a lower GPA, as co-valedictorian, the suit contends.
Both students spoke at commencement in May, said Wimberly attorney, John W. Walker.
Bratton contends the superintendent wouldn't allow her to speak to the school board to challenge the decision until graduation had passed.
The lawsuit seeks punitive damages and requests that school records be changed to show Wimberly as sole valedictorian.
Wimberly plans to attend Harding University in Searcy, Ark., in the fall, Walker said.
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