JACKSON COUNTY, Ill. (WSIL) -- An Illinois school district is getting praise for the way it handled a controversial incident involving race.
Last week, a sixth-grade boy received a card from another student that read 'white privilege card', according to Chastity Mays of the Race Unity Group of Carbondale.
"It made him feel real bad. He really didn't understand what was happening," Mays said.
The parody cards can be purchased through Amazon for $11 but Mays says the cards are no laughing matter.
"It's telling the children that if they have a certain type of skin color, that they don't have privilege, that they can't do whatever they want to do," Mays said.
The school acted quickly in the wake of the incident according to dean of students Mary Beth Goff. The school held a conference with the families involved and discussed the situation with students, Goff says.
"Intolerance is not acceptable and it's not okay at our schools and it's not something that would be tolerated," Goff said.
The school also held conversations about the incident with groups of students from fifth through eighth grade. Goff says students have responded positively to the talks.
"Our goal really is to look at the safety of our students and we want to make sure bottom-line that our kids are safe here at school and that they feel safe," Goff said.
Goff declined to give information about the specific students involved in the incident. Goff says the incident is a 'teachable moment' for students and teachers, who occassionally have to change what they're teaching.
"You take that opportunity and you use that to teach the students not just about this one incident but really the role hate has played throughout time in our world and unfortunately still plays today," Goff said.
Mays says the boy's mother is excited that the school met her demands and praised the school for acknowledging a sensitive, often painful, subject.
"If the children of color are old enough to experience racism all the children in the school are old enough to address the subject," Mays said.