The boy was a first grader at Milwaukee French Immersion School when homophobic comments by assistant principal Kasongo Kalumbula began, according to a federal lawsuit filed March 22.
McClatchy News reached out to the Milwaukee Board of School Directors, which is listed in the lawsuit, but did not immediately hear back. An attorney for Kalumbula was not listed, and Kalumbula did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
“Over a period of years, beginning when (the student) was only in first grade, Kalumbula called (the student’s parents) “queers” (and) told (the student) his parents would ‘burn in hell,’” the lawsuit said.
According to the lawsuit, the student was bullied by other kids for having gay parents and Kalumbula did not intervene.
‘Kalumbula treated complaints of bullying and harassment regarding students who are children of straight parents differently from complaints of such behavior against children of LGBTQ+ parents,” the lawsuit said.
On one occasion, another child shoved the student and the student’s parents were called. School officials explained to the parents what happened and that it was not the student’s fault, the lawsuit said.
However, Kalumbula later made the student call his parent and tell the parent that it was his fault he was shoved, according to the lawsuit. The parent was concerned with why the story was changed and met with Kalumbula, who “became enraged” that the parent was challenging what Kalumbula said, the lawsuit said.
“No queer is going to speak to me like this!” Kalumbula screamed at the parent in front of the principal, according to the lawsuit.
After the meeting, Kalumbula harassed and threatened the student for years, the lawsuit said.
“Kalumbula watched (the student) more closely than other students and frequently singled him out for shaming and correction, without correcting other students who were engaged in the same behavior,” the lawsuit said.
In the spring of 2019, Kalumbula locked the student in a dark room for over an hour, then told the student he would kill him if he told anyone, according to the lawsuit.
When other kids told the student that being gay was “bad” and “stupid,” the student became angry and was removed from class by Kalumbula, who told him that he was raised to believe that gay people are “evil” and will “burn in hell,” the lawsuit said.
“Most people in America do not agree with your parents’ lifestyle,” Kalumbula told the student, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit says as a result of the continued harassment and threats, the student has suffered from anxiety and trauma and is afraid to be in the dark.
Despite parents and other school staff reporting Kalumbula’s conduct, Kalumbula was promoted to principal at a different school at the end of the 2021-22 school year, the lawsuit said.
The parents eventually disenrolled the student from the school and sent him to another school, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit is asking for an undetermined amount in damages.
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