Students turn up the heat on Hillcrest High administration

February 20, 2023

WVUA 23 News,

By WVUA 23 News Reporter Asher Redd

Hillcrest High School students and local civil rights leaders continue working for change in the wake of a controversy surrounding a student-led Black History Monday program happening Feb. 22.

“If there are some individuals that are reluctant, I really want to know why. Why? If this is just the common sense right thing to do, why would you have this resistance to it,” said Tuscaloosa chapter of the NAACP President Lisa Young.

While the controversy gripped local and state headlines two weeks ago, it has since attracted national attention.

The Tuscaloosa NAACP chapter has called in the United States Department of Justice to mediate further meetings between community leaders and school administration.

Young said the Tuscaloosa County School System seemed reluctant to meet with civil right leaders. She said their meetings ended with nothing resolved.

“This is not something that’s going to happen overnight,” said Hillcrest student Jamiyah Brown. “I just want the administration to know that there’s a problem.”

Brown said the school has been painting a false picture of her in her senior year, despite her owning her own business and being a dual-enrollment student.

“As a young African American woman, I strive to put my all in,” Brown said. “I work hard every day to not only prove to others, but prove to myself that I’m powerful and I have a voice.”

It’s voices like Brown’s that the NAACP is working on strengthening, Young said.

“We understand the impact of diversity within the schools,” Young said. “We just need to make sure the school administration sees that as well.”

State representatives, county commissioners, civil rights leaders, pastors, students and members of the DOJ discussed solutions in their second community meeting at Greater Faith Church in Moundville on Saturday.