SUFFOLK, Va. – Bullying was a common theme at the Suffolk School Board meeting Thursday night.
Suffolk mother Shareka Robinson attended the meeting demanding answers.
“My daughter was bullied from the second week of school until Thursday,” she said. “She was tortured by three young ladies. She let teacher know that she was bullied. She let several teachers know she was bullied. She came home and she told me, 'Why didn't they like me? I don't know what I've done to them. I'm just trying to figure out why I'm not liked.'”
The issue of bullying was forced into the spotlight last week after Robinson said her sixth-grade daughter Morgan was attacked by another girl at King’s Fork Middle School.
“Thursday was the worst day of my life,” Shareka Robinson said. “My 11-year-old child was kicked and stomped on her head.”
Morgan was left with bald spots and bruises after her mother said the student threw Morgan around by her hair, repeatedly hitting her and stomping on her face.
The fight was recorded on cell phone video and shared dozens of times on social media.
The traumatic event left Morgan depressed and with emotional scars.
“I hated it was all over social media,” Morgan Robinson said exclusively to News 3 Tuesday.
Shareka Robinson said her 11-year-old is traumatized and depressed and is having a difficult time moving forward after the fight was shared online.
“When are we going to stand up to these bullies?” she said.
During the meeting, Dr. John B. Gordon III, superintendent of Suffolk Public Schools, announced an anti-bullying campaign and alluded to the fight involving Morgan.
“The one thing about cyber-bullying, the student has to live traumatic event over and over again, and that’s something we do not want to continue” said Superintendent Gordon. “That’s caused so much pain for one particular middle school student.”
The campaign is called ‘Pause Before You Post,’ and will focus on spreading awareness about the repercussions of bullying and cyberbullying.
SPS Community Engagement Officer Anthonette Ward said, they started working on the campaign a few weeks ago for October’s Bullying Prevention Month but are now rolling the campaign out faster after a video of the alleged attack on Morgan Robinson exploded on social media.
In a show of support, Black Lives Matter 757 and The Original Black Panther Militia walked into the board meeting side-by-side with Robinson.
“We are here standing in unity to stand against bullying,” said Mike Pain, the General of The Original Black Panther Militia. “We need to be here. We need to stand up and we need to protect our children at all costs.”
They said they need to come together as a community to stop a culture of bullying.
“We want to let the community know, no more bullying,” said Earl Lewis of BLM 757. “We want the students to know also that we stand align with her in unity. She’s not by herself.”
The school system said they’re not aware of bullying at any of the schools but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening.
The ‘Pause Before You Post’ anti-bullying campaign will launch on the SPS social media platforms on October 22. There will also be signage in the schools.
Meantime, Robinson said she’s considering taking legal action against the school.
