Published Thursday, May 16, 2019 | 3:33 p.m.
Updated Thursday, May 16, 2019 | 6:30 p.m.
The Clark County School District says it is investigating a Snapchat video shared online Wednesday that shows a teen student using racist language toward black people and saying they could “burn in hell.”
The teen, who was not identified, also directed an obscenity at civil rights icon Rosa Parks.
The district did not say where the teen goes to school, but Palo Verde High School sent a message to parents Wednesday addressing the video and saying that “behavior like this will not be tolerated at our school nor anywhere in the Clark County School District.”
The district said the video was not filmed on campus and noted that it appears the student was reciting song lyrics.
The rant seems to be taken word for word from a rap song that dates back to at least 2017. It has been posted on multiple platforms, including SoundCloud, where it has garnered more than 143,000 listens.
“While no direct threat has been made to our school or specific students, this kind of dialogue is unacceptable,” Palo Verde Principal Darren Sweikert said in his message to parents.
Patsy Brown, a candidate for Las Vegas City Council, said her daughter, a junior at Palo Verde, was “shocked” when she saw the video and shared it with her.
Brown said she was “outraged” and posted the video on Twitter with the message: “It’s prom season, graduation season, flu season and this is what my daughter showed me when she came home from #paloverde high today.”
Brown, who has been in contact with School District administrators, said her daughter told her the teen in the video was a schoolmate and an acquaintance. “You just don’t know people that well,” Brown said.
