DECATUR, Ill. (AP) — One of the six Decatur, Illinois teenagers whose 1999 expulsion from high school for fighting sparked a national uproar has been elected to the city’s school board.
The Rev. Courtney Carson was elected earlier this month to a four-year term.
The teens’ expulsions after a seconds-long fight at a football game sparked demonstrations in the central Illinois town.
Led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, they drew attention to zero-tolerance policies by schools that were not applied fairly to all.
Carson told the Chicago Tribune he was in the thick of the fight and subsequent demonstrations.
But with Jackson’s help was able to turn his life around after subsequent difficulties.
He is now an associate minister at a Decatur church.
During his campaign for a board seat, the father of four and Aurora University graduate said making things better for Decatur kids is a high priority in his life.
