Judge dismisses lawsuit over reading about slavery

MOUNT CLEMENS (AP) -- A Macomb County judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a man who claimed his daughter's civil rights were violated by a fifth-grade teacher's reading aloud from a book about slavery. Judge John Foster last week threw out the suit at Warren Consolidated Schools' request. Jamey Petree sued in 2010. His daughter was a student at Margaret Black Elementary School in Sterling Heights that year when the passages were read. The lawsuit claimed racial bias and harassment. The teacher read excerpts from the award-winning book, "From Slave Ship to Freedom Road," which contains racial epithets and racist characterizations. Foster says the book didn't violate the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act because it supplemented the approved fifth-grade social studies textbook and curriculum. Attorney Scott Combs, who represents the family, says he'll appeal. Published: Tue, Nov 6, 2012