BANGOR, Maine (AP) - A new investigator was appointed to lead a probe into racism at Bangor High School in Maine at the request of Black students and a city councilor.
The Bangor School Committee decided in August to appoint Krystal Williams, an attorney at the Portland firm Bernstein Shur, to investigate incidents of racism at Bangor High School since 2016, the Bangor Daily News reported Monday.
The change was in response to requests from two Black students who initially told the newspaper in June that other students at the school called them racist names and defended white supremacy and slavery among other actions to make them feel unwelcome and unsafe.
Angela Okafor, the only Black city councilor in Bangor, joined the students in requesting that the investigator be someone with similar life experiences to them, the newspaper reported. Williams is a Black woman.
A different attorney, Rebekah Smith, was first appointed to lead the probe in June. Interim Superintendent Kathy Harris-Smedberg did not tell the newspaper if the investigation had begun.
The newspaper said the contract with Williams states that she will not recommend any solutions or come to any legal conclusions in her report. The Bangor School Department has said some of her findings will be made public.
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