‘The pain is real’: Parents say 10-year-old son was expelled from private school after being called N-word

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A prominent Black family in Portland is calling for an apology after an alleged racist incident at their son’s Catholic school.

They say when they tried to address the issue with the principal at Madeleine Catholic School, she called police, and days later, expelled their son.

Mike Phillips is a renowned jazz musician who plays the National Anthem at numerous professional sporting events, while his wife, Karis Stoudamire-Phillips is an executive at Moda Health and part of the well-known Stoudamire basketball family.

They say in late March, their fourth-grade son reported being called the N-word on the playground at Madeleine School. Their account of what transpired was backed up by at least one other student.

Mike and Karis say they met with with Madeleine Principal Tresa Rast to demand a plan of action to address what happened to their son, and other racial incidents at the school. But they claim that Rast said that their son made the whole thing up and then suspended the boy three days later.

“As a mom, when your child hurts, you hurt, and I hurt because my child hurts. My older son, he hurts because his little brother hurts. It’s a lot of pain to have to deal with, but we know that what doesn’t break us makes us stronger, and he’s going to be better because of this. Our older child is going to be better because of this. We’re all going to be better because of this. But the pain is real,” Karis said.

A Change.org petition demands that the school or the Archdiocese apologize to the family, acknowledge their failures to respond to racist incidents, and take steps to create an inclusive environment so this doesn’t happen again. The petition has more than 2300 signatures.

KOIN 6 reached out to the school, who referred us to the Archdiocese of Portland. We have yet to receive a response.

Mike and Karis say the Madeleine community, including other parents, have been very supportive. However, their son is now at another private school.

The full interview with the parents can be seen in the video player above.