Changes in Chesterfield: NAACP calls for action after Nolan Wells social media post

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — The Chesterfield and Richmond chapters of the NAACP are calling on Chesterfield County leaders for a sit-down to review policies surrounding consequences for students involved in racist behavior.

"We have got to put an end to this," Nicole Martin, with Chesterfield County's NAACP, said.

The call for action follows a social media post depicting what appears to be a Huguenot High School football player as Nolan Wells — a Black student athlete from Mississippi who was found dead, with questions surrounding the circumstances of his death drawing national attention.

Watch: Parents demand action after post targeting Huguenot football players

The altered image was created after Huguenot and Midlothian High schools faced each other in a football game. Midlothian High's principal confirmed that the post was made by a student who was not on school property and who is not a member of the football team.

"I mean, it was just low down dirty, just trashy that you would even think to do something like that," JJ Minor, with Richmond's NAACP, said.

"It is unacceptable. It is disgusting. And our leadership have to do something about it," Martin said.

Martin and Minor say they are calling on school leaders to review policies to ensure students are held accountable.

"You know, in the CCPS student handbook, it states that student conduct is expected in school, on the property, and it also states it off property too. So our question is why isn't that off property student conduct being held to the same standard," Martin said.

The school system has not disclosed what repercussions the student faces, citing student privacy laws that prevent the sharing of information about disciplinary consequences. Martin and Minor say more needs to be done to deter these types of actions.

"This is traumatizing to the family. To the whole family, it's also traumatizing to his friends," Minor said.

"They did not think about the impact that it's going to cause, not just for today, not just for the weekend, but a lifetime," Martin said.

"Our first and foremost care and concern is for that student, but most importantly, we want things to change in Chesterfield County and throughout the state of Virginia," Martin said.

I have reached out to the Chesterfield County spokesperson, as well as the school board member who represents the Midlothian High School area, for a response to the press conference and have not yet received a reply.

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