HATE CRIME

Cops Investigating After Massachusetts Instagram Account Referred to Black High School Students as ‘Slaves’

“Ultimately, these types of social media sites serve to divide and tear apart the inclusive school culture that we are working so hard to create here,” the school’s principal said.

Police and school officials are investigating after the discovery of an Instagram account that referred to Black students in a Massachusetts district as “slaves.” Fitchburg High School’s principal, Jeremy Roche, wrote to parents last Friday, saying that administrators had been made aware of the private page’s existence earlier in the day. Officials then immediately flagged the account, reportedly named “fhsslaves,” to Instagram as a hate crime. “Ultimately, these types of social media sites serve to divide and tear apart the positive, welcoming, inclusive school culture that we are working so hard to create here at FHS,” Roche wrote in his letter to parents. According to ABC News affiliate WCVB, the page was deleted less than 18 hours after its creation. The Fitchburg Police Department also confirmed to the outlet that its officers were conducting an investigation into the matter after being contacted by school administrators.