Black Mississippi high school graduate files lawsuit claiming she lost out on college scholarships after a white male student with a lower GPA was named salutatorian instead of her because they 'feared white flight' Olecia James, 18, is suing the Cleveland School District in Mississippi She claims district officials took away her salutatorian title of Cleveland Central High School because they 'feared white flight' She transferred to the newly formed Cleveland Central High in 2017 after a judge ruled that the school district was illegally segregating black and white students James said a white male student with a lower GPA was given the salutatorian title instead of her She said she lost a University of Mississippi scholarship specifically for salutatorians because of the decisionBy Emily Crane For Dailymail.com Published: 05:54 BST, 3 May 2019 | Updated: 05:56 BST, 3 May 2019 Viewcomments Olecia James, 18, filed the lawsuit against the Cleveland School District in Mississippi last week after claiming a white student with a lower GPA was named salutatorian A black high school graduate is suing her Mississippi school district because she claims she lost out on a college scholarship after a white male student with a lower GPA was named salutatorian instead of her. Olecia James, 18, filed the federal lawsuit against the Cleveland School District last week. The teenager claims that district officials took away the chance of her being salutatorian - the graduate with the second-best grades - of Cleveland Central High School because they 'feared white flight'. James transferred to the newly formed Cleveland Central High in 2017 after a federal judge ruled that the Mississippi school district was illegally segregating black and white students in two different schools. Cleveland Central High combined students from the two existing schools - East Side High School and Cleveland High School. James claims in the lawsuit that she learned two weeks before graduation that the school was lowering her grade point average by reducing the quality points from some of the advanced placement courses she had taken at East Side High. The district uses quality points to measure the demand of certain courses. James transferred to the newly formed Cleveland Central High in 2017 after a federal judge ruled that the Mississippi school district was illegally segregating black and white students in two different schools The teenager claims that district officials took away the chance of her being salutatorian - the graduate with the second-best grades - of Cleveland Central High School because they 'feared white flight' The lawsuit claims that the quality points were only deducted from students who had taken classes at the historically black high school. When she complained to the school, James said she was told her GPA would be restored to 4.41 but a white male student was still given the title of salutatorian despite his 4.34 average. James said she met with the school district again to question why she wasn't given the salutatorian title and they informed her - without explanation - that her GPA had been lowered to 4.33. 'The defendants... in their angst to prevent white flight, named W.M., a white male student, as salutatorian of the inaugural class of Cleveland Central High School in 2018, a position he had not earned, and in doing so, discriminated against Olecia James, a black female who had earned the position,' the lawsuit states. Apart from being humiliated, James said she lost a University of Mississippi scholarship specifically for salutatorians. The teen has completed her first year at Alcorn State University. The school and school district have not commented publicly about the lawsuit. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility