Michael Eric Dyson Says Grandson Threatened

Washington, DC – Prominent Georgetown University Professor Michael Eric Dyson, known for his work as a scholar and sociology professor, recently said his six-year-old grandson was called the N-word and physically threatened as first-graders raced to be first in line for pizza during lunch. Dyson said a boy threatened to go home and retrieve his father’s gun and shoot his grandson.

“It’s ridiculous for a 6-year-old to be subjected to this,” said Dyson. “You feel powerless when your children suffer something you can’t immediately fix or resolve.”

In a letter to families, the school’s principal Liz Whisnant said, “The incident did not include any language about race or ethnicity” but that “harmful” language was used and a “threat of physical harm” was made. She said a third student was involved. “We responded immediately by removing the student from his peers and taking a number of actions that involved communicating directly with the parents of the three students involved,” she wrote in the letter.

A D.C. police report on the incident says a nearby officer was flagged down after the “verbal altercation.” According to the report, a student threatened two other children with his father’s gun if they kept cutting the lunch line.

The D.C. school system said the allegations are under investigation.