Photos and videos that spread on social media have apparently led to disciplinary action for at least two students at a Florida high school. The images showed the students holding up a Black doll during a girls’ volleyball contest. The game was said to be between Andrew Jackson High School and Fernandina Beach High School.
According to Atlanta Black Star, Andrew Jackson High School is almost 90 percent Black. Fernandina Beach High School is predominantly white, according to information cited from U.S. News & World Report. A parent who went to the match to see her daughter play later spoke with Action News Jax in Jacksonville.
Antoinette Beckton said white students directed attention at a Black player after that player went down on the court. She told the station, “One of our players fell, and she was injured. They began to stand up with a black doll, and they were saying, ‘Oh, she’s dead. It’s just another one. She’ll be OK.’” Beckton also said, “Beyond disbelief. There were no words. I was furious.”
School officials describe doll as class assignment after social media videos circulate
The Nassau County School District opened a review and posted a statement on Facebook on September 15. District officials said the students’ actions broke the district’s code of conduct. They said disciplinary steps would follow, but cited privacy rules when they declined to provide more specifics.
A Fernandina Beach High School student had the doll because of a parenting class task that called for bringing it to the game inside a baby carrier, the statement said. The use of black dolls to mock or degrade students has drawn scrutiny elsewhere, such as when Louisiana State University investigated footage of a white student dragging one on a rope.
Other students took the doll out of the carrier at different times, and two white students lifted it overhead while they shouted, officials reported. Investigators did not confirm claims that racial slurs were used during the match. The district said the lack of verified slurs “does not make the other described acts acceptable.”
Officials labeled the conduct “inappropriate.” They added, “We are deeply sorry for the events that occurred in our gym along with the hurt and distress it caused. Students and guests who enter a Nassau County school should be treated with dignity and respect, which was not demonstrated during this event.”
Fernandina Beach High School will raise supervision at sports events and set up community-building activities with Andrew Jackson High School, the district said, as part of efforts “to ensure appropriate conduct.” Such incidents of alleged racial discrimination in schools have prompted legal action elsewhere, as when a Missouri mother filed a lawsuit after her son was bruised over a backpack. Whether the students involved face expulsion or penalties outside the school has not been made public.
Published: Sep 20, 2026 07:15 am