Kymberly Wimberly, a black 18-year-old from McGehee, Arkansas, says she had the highest G.P.A. in her graduating high school class and should have been the school’s sole valedictorian.
But according to a lawsuit filed by Wimberly on July 21 that alleges racial discrimination, McGehee High School appointed a white student with a lower G.P.A. to be the “co-valedictorian.” That decision, the lawsuit alleges, falls in line with a “pattern and practice of school administrators and personnel treating the African-American students less favorably than the Caucasian ones,” according to ABC News.
Wimberly is seeking punitive damages and for the school record to be changed.
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Further backing their legal battle, is a claim from Wimberly’s mother, Molly Bratton, who says she overheard school officials saying they wanted to avoid the “big mess” that would happen if her daughter was Valedictorian. Shortly after she overheard this statement, the second Valedictorian was named, Bratton and Wimberly allege.
Wimberly says she worked very hard for those high grades. Taking Advanced Placement and honors courses — even as she gave birth to a daughter during her junior year — she only earned one B grade in her entire 4-year high school career.
“I’m not going to say it wasn’t difficult,” she told ABC. “My teachers thought I’d fall flat on my face, but I kept trying to succeed.” (via Courthouse News Service)
Kayla Webley is a Writer-Reporter at TIME. Find her on Twitter at @kaylawebley or on Facebook at facebook.com/kaylalwebley. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.