Georgia school district responds after 'Colored Only' signs at school draw outrage from parents

Tanasia Kenney, The Charlotte Observer on Apr 24, 2025

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A Georgia school district is investigating after parents raised concerns over segregation-era signs displayed inside an Atlanta-area elementary school, news outlets reported.

Signs reading “For Whites Only” and “For Colored Only” were reportedly posted in a cafeteria and above water fountains at Honey Creek Elementary School in Conyers, parents told WSB-TV.

School leaders explained the signs were part of an unapproved social studies activity, but it did little to quell public scrutiny, WXIA reported.

Parents voiced their concerns at a recent Rockdale County School Board meeting, prompting district leaders to take a closer look at the incident, the station reported.

In a statement, Rockdale County Public Schools said it has taken “appropriate action to address the reported information” but declined to comment on the matter further, according to WANF.

Principal Adriene Lanier addressed the incident in a letter to parents on April 23, saying it involved a social studies lesson on civil rights activist Ruby Bridges, WSB-TV reported. Bridges was the first Black child to desegregate William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana in 1960.

“The district provides teachers with curriculum documents that include recommended and vetted resources and activities,” Lanier said, as reported by the station. “In this instance, the teacher did not adhere to the approved resources or recommended lessons provided by the district.”

It’s not clear if the teacher will face disciplinary action.

McClatchy News reached out to Rockdale County Public Schools for more information April 24 but didn’t immediately hear back.

District leaders said the teacher had no ill intent but acknowledged the classroom lesson wasn’t appropriate, according to WXIA.

In a statement, The Georgia NAACP said it was “deeply disturbed” by the incident and argued that the signage evoked a “painful legacy of segregation and racial injustice.”

“We call upon the Rockdale County School District to take swift and transparent action — not only to hold those involved accountable but to implement district-wide anti-racism education, cultural competency training for staff and students, and spaces for open dialogue led by trusted community leaders,” the organization said.

Conyers is about a 20-mile drive southeast from downtown Atlanta.

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