A social media video of two Grosse Pointe girls calling each other the N-word is drawing new unwanted attention to a school district already under fire for racial insensitivity.

A 27-second video posted on Twitter shows two white Grosse Pointe South students calling each other the N-word and slaves, while kicking and hitting each other.

It is unclear whether the altercation was real or staged, but the video has gotten some attention and is being investigated by school officials.

School Superintendent Gary Niehaus said he first learned of the video over the weekend and forwarded it to the district's human resources department and to Grosse Pointe South High School principal Moussa Hamka.

"The parents of the two students asked for a meeting with Mr. Hamka on Monday and they asked to bring the daughters into the meeting," Niehaus said. "The parents were disappointed. Probably wanting to make sure that they could help solve the issues between the two girls."

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Video features racial slurs, and threat of violence

The video was posted Monday, with the poster writing: “I’m disgusted. My 13 yr old sister sent this to me. These girls are in her school district. Can’t believe we still deal with this in 2019.”

The video opens with a blond girl who throws a dark-haired girl to the ground and says, “You b---- a--, N-----!” She then kicks the girl, who jumps up as the two start slapping each other during what appears to be a teenage party.

The video appears to have been shot in the bedroom suite of a home. Other voices on the video can be heard laughing as one girl staggers around the room after another girl.

“I’m not a f------ N-----!" the girl on the ground screams back, before bursting into her own string of racial slurs to the blond girl.

“N-----! You’re my f------ N-----! My slave …. You’re my f------ slave!”

In the background, you hear the voice of a boy saying, ‘You hear that?’

As of Tuesday morning, the Twitter video had been viewed 10,500 times, with social media users calling for the Grosse Pointe School District to take action.

“I’m really hoping your school will handle this properly. We’ll be waiting for updates on the situation because racial slurs can not be tolerated,” wrote one Twitter user.

Another wrote:

“this happens like once a year at south,” referring to Grosse Pointe South High School.

Video points to larger race problem, some say

The video is the latest in a string of racist behavior, some say, and may have added to the perception that race is an issue in the Grosse Pointes.

On Monday night, a heated discussion about school closures at the Board of Education meeting centered heavily on race. One school the board voted to close is Charles A. Poupard Elementary School in Harper Woods, where 76% of students are African American. It's the only school in the Grosse Pointe system that is considered at Title I school, a federal designation that provides additional money to help low-income students.

The other school scheduled to close is Trombly Elementary, on the south end of the district, where 10% of students are African American.

Dr. Agustin Arbulu, executive director of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, attended the school board meeting Monday night to discuss the school closings. He referenced the racist video during his remarks, calling it disturbing and another example of racial insensitivity in the district.

"It's reflective of this deeper racialized message that is built into the DNA of the Grosse Pointes," Arbulu told the Free Press on Tuesday. "It's not a one-off. They need to look at themselves more deeply and challenge the assumptions."

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Niehaus acknowledged it's not the first time such an incident has happened in Grosse Pointe.

"This has happened in our district pretty much annually in some form," he said. "Different scenarios, different videos, but it's happened."

Niehaus said the girls face discipline related to violations of the extracurricular activity code, which sets conduct rules for athletes and others who participate in after-school activities.

"We believe we do have some room to grow in those areas, but what happens at a private party, in a private home, away from school, makes a difficult situation for us to enforce," the school superintendent said.

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A teachable moment?

In March, 2016, four Grosse Pointe South High School students were suspended for a week after a social media post showed three of them with the N-word scrawled across their stomachs.

Two other students were suspended for a week after they threatened other students who came forward about the posting, Niehaus said at the time.

Arbulu said the recent video does present a learning opportunity.

"It's less about shaming them and more about educating them and trying to understand," he said about the students.

"Hopefully, they can hear the message that they are sending by using such words. What you're saying if you use the N-word or the slave word, you're trying to not only demean a person, you're trying to show dominance over a person. We need to work harder. We need to not give up."

Contact John Wisely: 313-222-6825 or jwisely@freepress.com. On Twitter @jwisely