Black Panthers investigating report of racial incident at school

ATHENS - The New Black Panther Party has brought a contingent to Athens to protest a playground incident in which three white students reportedly tied a black student to a tree. <br> <br> An attorney for the black student&#39;s parents complained to the Department of Education&#39;s Office of Civil Rights saying the school had taken ``no effective remedial or disciplinary action&#39;&#39; for the Nov. 20 incident at Hilsman Middle School. <br> <br> The New Black Panther Party&#39;s national chief of staff, Hashim Nzinga, told reporters outside the Clarke County School District headquarters that the organization had launched an investigation. <br> <br> ``I don&#39;t know about white people, but for black people, that is psychological warfare,&#39;&#39; he said Thursday. <br> <br> Superintendent Lewis Holloway said last month that witnesses had reported the child was never tied to the tree. He said Thursday he was confident the Department of Education would find the school handled the matter properly. <br> <br> ``We looked into the incident and conducted an exhaustive investigation,&#39;&#39; he said. ``We think they&#39;ll see we&#39;re as fair as possible.&#39;&#39;