The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org. July 26, 2011 African-American Student Files Suit Against High School Following Valedictorian Scandal ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A recent high school graduate in Arkansas has filed a lawsuit against her former school after the school officials refused to allow her to be her class's sole valedictorian, even though she had the highest grade-point average. The student, Kymberly Wimberly, who is African American, alleges in her suit that the school's decision was part of a pattern of racial discrimination. Courthouse News reports that once school officials realized Wimberly had the highest GPA of the class of 2011, school administrators named a white student with a lower GPA as her fellow valedictorian. Wimberly's mother, who works at the school, says she overheard an official calling her valedictorian status a "big mess." .