Raniya Wright, a 10-year-old fifth grader, passed away on March 27, 2019, at Forest Hills Elementary School due to a classmate bullying her excessively. The bullying began with verbal slurs regarding Raniya’s nose and hair then gradually escalated to a physical fight that ultimately led to Raniya’s death. The mom has expressed that this bullying issue had been brought to the school’s attention multiple times, yet they had failed to take any action. NBC News shared the words of Wright’s mother, as she is “very upset with the school system, starting out, only because of the fact that … [she has] been complaining about the person she fought multiple times to them.” Raniya allegedly consistently shared with her mom that the classmate had a daily habit of making fun of her nose and hair. 

Raniya’s mother remains in disbelief. She feels as though she did her due-diligence by informing the school several times of this bullying issue and believes their apathy and lack of action led to the death of her child. She believes that it is the school‘s job to keep their students safe and to intervene when issues arise on campus.

NBC News described the conversation that took place between the teacher and Raniya’s mother prior to her death. The now distraught mother recalled, “I’d normally call and talk to her teacher about it, and she’ll say, ‘Well, Raniya never said anything to me about it.’ And I’m saying, ‘Well, I’m letting you know she comes home to me about it every day.” This reveals a hands-off, laissez-faire attitude toward such a serious problem – the reason Raniya’s mother is suing. She continues to explain her persistence and struggle to get anyone on the school staff to listen to her concerns. 

Raniya’s mother will continue to fight for justice in the death of her child and will send messages to all schools that the safety of their children should be their priority. Bullying is a serious threat, no matter how minor it may seem, and needs to be taken seriously, as seen in this instance. Bullying, that could’ve been handled by the school administration, led to the death of a ten-year-old girl that could have been prevented.