Black mother claims white school guard pulled 'racist' prank on her Down Syndrome son, 12, making him pose with his hands up as if he was being frisked   

  • Incident involving Brandon Pearson, 12, took place Tuesday on the first day of fall semester at Huntington K-8 School in Eastwood, NY
  • Brandiss Pearson, Brandon's mother, confronted the white security guard later but he dismissed his racially insensitive antics as a 'funny joke'
  • The staffer has since been suspended by the school district  

By Snejana Farberov For Mailonline

Published: 10:20 EST, 4 September 2014 | Updated: 16:21 EST, 4 September 2014

 A black mother from upstate New York is outraged after she says a white security guard at her special-needs son's new school played a racist prank on the boy.

Brandiss Pearson, a mother of two from Syracuse, says the school staffer forced her 12-year-old son, Brandon, to pose for a photo in a way that made it look like the boy was being frisked.

Brandon Pearson suffers from Down Syndrome and did not understand what was happening.

Mistreated: Brandon Pearson, a 12-year-old with Down Syndrome, became the butt of a racially charged prank pulled on him by a white security guard at his new school in upstate New York  

Mistreated: Brandon Pearson, a 12-year-old with Down Syndrome, became the target of a racially charged prank pulled on him by a white security guard at his new school in upstate New York

Harsh lesson: Brandon arrived at Huntington K-8 School in Eastwood Tuesday and was met by a guard who made him stand against the wall with his hands up as if he was being frisked  

Harsh lesson: Brandon arrived at Huntington K-8 School in Eastwood Tuesday and was met by a guard who made him stand against the wall with his hands up as if he was being frisked  

Mrs Pearson's complaint has led Syracuse school officials to suspend the guard and open an inquiry into the disturbing incident.

Pearson tells The Post-Standard of Syracuse the cruel, racially charged joke took place on Tuesday, the first day of school at Huntington K-8 School in Eastwood.

According to the mother, she, her son Brandon, her husband and her father stopped in a school hallway to snap pictures in front of a mural before the beginning of class.

That is when the unnamed security guard jumped in, turned Brandon to face the wall and lifted the boy's hands above his head on the wall, as if to be searched.

Making light of it: When Brandiss Pearson (left), Brandon's mother, confronted the guard a day later, he dismissed the incident as a 'funny joke' 

She said the white man was laughing and said: 'Now take the picture. He's in the right position.'

The unaware 12-year-old boy kept smiling, but his family were shocked and appalled at the guard's conduct. 

Racial divide: Mrs Pearson is a college-educated registered nurse who is working on her master's degree, but she says to some she is just a black woman

Racial divide: Mrs Pearson is a college-educated registered nurse who is working on her master's degree, but she says to some she is just a black woman

‘I was shaking, just like fire-breathing mad,’ she told the paper. 'All he saw was a little black boy who needed to assume the position.'

Mrs Pearson, a registered nurse at St Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, confronted the insolent guard about his antics when she ran into him in the hallway Wednesday.

In response to her outrage, the man allegedly said he thought what he did was 'a funny joke.'

The school guard was suspended Wednesday pending an investigation by the school district.

Pearson has a bachelor’s degree in social work, she is currently working on her master’s degree, and also sits on the board of directors of a not-for-profit organization dedicated to revitalizing neighborhoods – but she says no matter her accomplishments, some people will always judge her and other Africans-Americans solely based on the color of their skin.

 

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