Parents of gay teen who died by suicide file lawsuit against district
The family of Nigel Shelby filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the district who attorneys said violated laws
The parents of
Nigel Shelby have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against an Alabama school district after the teenager died in April 2019.
NBC News reported attorneys for the family said school staff violated Title VI, which prohibits intentional discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin, and Title IX, which prohibits public schools from ignoring harassment based on gender stereotyping.
Shelby was the target of bullies at school and social media for being gay. According to the report, he was told by Huntsville High School’s then-freshman principal
According to the
Tony Hawk has donated $10,000 to the new skatepark at
John Hunt Park. Hawk says that the old skatepark in Huntsville was legendary, and having some of the elements from that park represented in the new version. There will be a virtual meeting on the future of the skatepark on April 20 at 6 p.m. (
Providence in Huntsville has broken ground on
2020 in Providence, a mixed-use development with 360 apartments and 20,000 square feet of retail space. Despite the (literally) outdated name, the project is expected to be finished by the end of 2022, according to reporter
Paul Gattis. (
Huntsville City Schools is making plans to move their central office. The city is in the process of buying land on
Huntsville school officials knew Nigel Shelby was suicidal, lawsuit says
Updated Apr 13, 2021;
Posted Apr 13, 2021
Nigel Shelby, 15, died by suicide in April, 2019. His family has hired a prominent civil rights attorney to investigate the school system s treatment of their son.
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The family of Nigel Shelby, the 15-year-old boy who took his own life in 2019, filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against Huntsville City Schools as well as the city of Huntsville alleging school officials failed to stop him from being bullied because he was openly gay and that bullying led to his suicide.
The lawsuit also maintains that Huntsville school administrators knew that Shelby was considering suicide and took no action.
Nigel Shelby
The family of an openly gay teenager who died by suicide after relentless bullying and harassment that was allegedly allowed to go unchecked by school officials is suing the city of Huntsville and its public school system for violating his civil rights.
Nigel Shelby, 14, died by suicide on April 18, 2019, after being tormented by fellow schoolmates, who physically assaulted him, called him derogatory names, racial slurs, and anti-gay slurs, and bullied him on social media as well in person. Shelby became more and more depressed and began engaging in self-harming behaviors as the bullying continued.
Civil rights lawyers Benjamin Crump and Jasmine Rand, who are serving as co-counsel for Shelby’s family in the lawsuit, said in a press conference on Tuesday that school administrators refused to take action to stop the bullying even after Shelby complained of the harassment he was receiving.
Update: Huntsville City Schools, cityâs project to move central offices
Update on mixed use construction plans By Tiffany Thompson | April 14, 2021 at 8:22 AM CDT - Updated April 14 at 8:22 AM
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - Plans are underway to move Huntsville City Schools central office, and the City of Huntsville is helping.
The city is in the process of buying land on North Memorial Parkway and then they plan to give a portion of it to the school system.
According to city leaders this project will be the first mixed use development in north Huntsville, something they hope will help revitalize that part of the city from a dilapidated plaza to the new central office for the Huntsville City School District.