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A Black high school student in Indiana who reported receiving a racist, disturbing threat says speaking up to officials led to his suspension, per Atlanta Black Star.
Julian Blevins, a 16-year-old sophomore at Chesterton High School in Chesterton, Indiana, reported receiving a handwritten letter filled with racial slurs that listed his home address and warned, “I know where you live.”
Blevins said the letter was written as a mock “response from Santa” after a classmate took a note he had written for a TikTok idea while he was giving a presentation in English class. Another student later returned the note to him, rewritten with racist language and threats.
The letter included slurs, stereotypes, and a message stating that Black people do not deserve gifts, before ending with Blevins’ home address and a warning that the sender knew where he lived.
“It shocked me,” Blevins told WFLD. “I never expected something that sickening.”
Blevins reported the letter to his assistant principal, who told him the matter would be investigated. However, the following day, Blevins was sent to the assistant principal’s office after discussing the incident in class. He was later suspended for several days for allegedly being disrespectful to his teacher.
“All I did was speak up about what happened,” Blevins said. “Speaking up got me punished, not protected.”
In a letter to parents, Chesterton High School Principal Brent Martinson said the school conducted an investigation, interviewed students and staff, and issued disciplinary consequences. According to Blevins’ friends, the student who wrote the letter was suspended for four to five days.
However, Blevins and his family say the harassment didn't stop. Blevins' mother, Natalie Cole, said another student called her son the N-word shortly after he returned from suspension.
Cole said she has repeatedly raised concerns with school administrators and the district superintendent over what she describes as a pattern of racial hostility and unequal discipline. After receiving no clear resolution, Cole filed a complaint with the Department of Education’s Civil Rights Division.
“As of 2026, my son continues to experience a school environment where hate speech and racial hostility persist,” Cole wrote. “These incidents are not isolated and have gone unremedied despite repeated notice.”
Cole is calling for federal intervention, a review of the district’s handling of racist incidents, and accountability for what she believes is a pattern of holding Black students to a higher standard.
“If my son is expected to be accountable for what he says, then everyone should be accountable,” she said.
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