A Georgia elementary school is facing furious backlash from parents after their students were subjected to signs on campus reading “whites only” and “colored only.”
Students reported seeing the signs above water fountains and in the cafeteria at Honey Creek Elementary in Conyers, Georgia, southeast of Atlanta, according to local outlet WSB-TV.
School officials said a teacher put up the signs as part of a history lesson on Ruby Bridges, the first Black student to desegregate a U.S. school in 1960 at just six years old.
“The district provides teachers with curriculum documents that include recommended and vetted resources and activities,” Principal Adriene Lanier wrote in a message Wednesday to parents. “In this instance, the teacher did not adhere to the approved resources or recommended lessons provided by the district.”
While “we do not believe there was any ill intent, the activity was not included in the teacher’s submitted lesson plan and was not approved by school administrators,” Lanier added.
But parents and community members called the move unacceptable.
“My son was over a water fountain drinking, and there was a ‘for colored only’ sign above and he was made fun of by the other children,” one parent told WSB-TV. “To me, that’s not a history lesson.”
“Things can be taught in a way that doesn’t inflict trauma on children,” another parent told the outlet.
That parent asked WSB-TV to keep her name private over concerns about racist backlash: “[I’m] trying to limit as much backlash as I can, because I know there are racist individuals in this world unfortunately,” the parent added.
The Rockdale County and Georgia NAACP chapters have both condemned the teacher’s signs, calling it an “act of racial hostility that reopens wounds still felt by generations of Americans who have fought, and continue to fight, for equality and dignity.”
“This moment demands more than outrage — it demands action,” the chapters said in a joint statement. “Accountability is non-negotiable. But accountability alone is not enough. This moment must spark comprehensive, systemic change.”
The chapters called on the Rockdale County School District to implement changes to their training and education programs, including “mandatory anti-racism education rooted in historical truth,” “mandatory anti-racism education rooted in historical truth,” and “transparent engagement with parents and stakeholders, rooted in trust, equity, and repair.”
The Independent has contacted the Rockdale County School District for comment.
