Alabama School Settles Girl’s Suit Over Interracial Dating Remarks
A mixed-race student who sued school officials over a white principal’s remarks about interracial dating reached a financial settlement Tuesday to end the case, her lawyer said.
The amount of money going to 17-year-old Revonda Bowen was not disclosed. Under the settlement, neither Randolph County High School principal Hulond Humphries nor the school board admitted wrongdoing.
Bowen, president of the junior class at the rural high school in Wedowee, filed a federal lawsuit in March, charging that Humphries threatened to cancel the prom if interracial couples planned to attend. The prom was not canceled.
Bowen, daughter of a white father and black mother, also asserted that Humphries said her parents’ marriage and her birth were a “mistake.” She alleged violation of her civil rights.
Her attorney, Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, said the amount in the settlement will be disclosed when a judge approves the agreement. Dees said the money will be given to Bowen when she reaches age 19, although it can be used for her college education before then.
Attorneys for the principal and the school board could not be reached immediately for comment.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
