Special Needs Boy Allegedly Bullied by Teachers before He Tried to Take His Life

A mom from Chicago is furious after finding out that her special needs son was bullied by his own teachers before he tried to take his own life.

Chicago Public School teachers are now under fire for bullying a fourth grade special needs student before he tried to commit suicide earlier this year. His furious mother filed a lawsuit against the teachers after finding out that they had a role to play in her son's condition.

Jamari Dent, 11, tried to end his life in February after having to suffer more than a year of violent bullying from his peers and teachers at two different Chicago schools.

Ignored Pleas for Help

Jamari attended the Evers Elementary School before transferring to Woodson Elementary, where he was bullied in both schools. The incident left the young man with permanent brain damage and other life-threatening injuries.

Tierra Black, the boy's mother, explained that up until today, he is still being hospitalized and is currently using a ventilator to breathe. Multiple times, she's asked teachers, school officials, and the school district to try and protect her son to the point of begging to them, but she was always shrugged off or ignored.

"They were causing the bullying. It started with the teachers, what went on with my son. There is no reason my son should be lying in a hospital bed. I asked for help. And I never get it. I never get it."

Chronic Bullying in Chicago

Because of the tragic incident, Jamari might need breathing assistance for the rest of his life. Now, the Chicago Board of Education along with individual teachers are now facing a lawsuit which claims that both students and teachers referred to the little boy as "stupid," "dumb," and "retarded." They would also tell him that he would wound up in a facility for "students with mental disabilities."

In one particular account stated in the lawsuit, a teacher went so far as to call him "dirty" and "nappy-headed" before asking him if his "brillo hair was the reason he couldn't read." His classmates then began laughing at him. The same teacher also assaulted Jamari in February of last year, injuring him and causing his mom to file a police report against her.

After being transferred to Woodson, the abuse just got worse. Three teachers physically assaulted him on different occasions, one grabbing him by the neck and striking his face, another choking him and letting his head hit the wall.

Justice for Jamari

The lawsuit described just how tortured the young boy felt, which led to him attempting suicide because of the way he was being treated.

"With his and his mother's continued pleas for relief to teachers and administrators ignored, J.D. saw no other way to stop the pain than to go into his bedroom, close the door, tie a bed sheet around his neck and hang himself on a coat hook. His suicide attempt was the result of over a year of chronic bullying and violent conduct at the hands of teachers and students at Evers Elementary and then Woodson Elementary."

The lawsuit filed by Tierra is only one of the three civil cases against Chicago Public Schools represented by attorney Michael Oppenheimer, who even plans to file an all-encompassing federal lawsuit against the school district because of the gravity of these cases.