Racial tension is sky high in this country right now. So you would think that we would work harder to show that we are truly united in this country. Unfortunately that is far from the truth, some would prefer to add fuel to the fire.

On October 13 at Stone High School in Wiggins, Mississippi four white students approach a black student in the school’s locker room and tie a noose around his neck and pulled it tightly. All of the students involved in this assault are under the age of 17.

“No child should be walking down the hall or in a locker room and be accosted with a noose around their neck,” the Mississippi NAACP President, Derrick Johnson, said. “This is 2016, not 1916. This is America. This is a place where children should go to school and feel safe in their environment.”

The black football player’s parents, Hollis and Stacey Payton, stood silently with Johnson at a press conference in front of the Stone County Courthouse.

Initially, the Stone County Sheriff’s Department discouraged the Payton’s from filing a police report because one of the white students’ parents is a former law enforcement officer, Johnson said. But Captain Ray Boggs recanted stating that he was simply warning the parents of the backlash their child could receive from classmates due to the lawsuit.

“Allowing students to commit blatant hate crimes without severe consequences sends a message to students that their safety and well-being are not valuable enough to be protected,” the NAACP said in a statement Monday. They are also working toward having the students tried as adults.

We cannot allow students to victimized at school and do absolutely nothing to protect them. Far too often white males are simply given a pass because “boys will be boys,” while black males are prosecuted to the fullest extent. Yes, boys will be boys if we continue to treat their crimes as minor infractions.

The black football coach said one student approach the black player with the noose and was immediately kicked off the team. While school has yet to implement any disciplinary action against the student(s).