Mom writes book after students left out of Chapel Hill yearbook

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]Tonight, an autistic Chapel Hill mom, educator, and disability advocate has written a new book that digs deeper into conversations about inclusion, accountability, and belonging when vulnerable people are overlooked by the very systems meant to protect them. As CBS 17's Baron James reports, Unapologetic Mercy comes as the author continues advocating for families following the omission of special needs students in the Chapel Hill High School yearbook.

[00:00:29]>> I feel pretty upset about it that they would get left out.

[00:00:32]>> Straight-A graduating senior Luke Lee is not alone.

[00:00:36]>> And I also feel like like like seeing my sister was left out, too. And other students.

[00:00:43]>> He and Lexi and more than 12 of their fellow special needs schoolmates were omitted from Chapel Hill High's yearbook. Luke and his mom, Krista Zel Calloway, call it one more case in the disability community of being out of sight, out of mind.

[00:00:58]>> And um they're amazing humans and they deserve to be recognized just with everybody else. No more and no less.

[00:01:05]It's kind of like the encyclopedia of that school. That school will keep every yearbook from the year that it started until the end. And if you're not included, well, there's no record of you.

[00:01:16]>> So, I'm speaking out for those who don't have voice or just scared to speak up for themselves.

[00:01:23]>> Following public outcry from families and advocates, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools issued a statement apologizing for what district leaders described as gaps in internal procedures rather than intentional exclusion. The district says updated yearbooks and professionally produced insert pages are being planned for affected students and families.

[00:01:43]>> We're going to continue to advocate for them to remake the yearbook.

[00:01:47]>> What began as a yearbook dispute has evolved into a larger conversation about disability rights, visibility, and the responsibility schools have to ensure every student feels seen and valued.

[00:02:00]>> It seems like students with disabilities are historically an afterthought.

[00:02:04]>> And this mom, former school teacher, disability advocate, and author, who happens to be autistic herself, [music] like her Luke and Lexi, has literally written the book titled Unapologetic Mercy, [music] A Mother's Fight for Truth in a System That Failed the Most Vulnerable. Like the book's main character, Laney, who's based on Lexi.

[00:02:23][music] >> A former student of mine um that was found neglected [music] and abused near death. And um when nobody stepped in, we did.

[00:02:33]So, she's been [music] um with us since then.

[00:02:35]>> I wrote this book because our family lived through experiences [music] that taught us what it feels like to be overlooked, excluded, and misunderstood.

[00:02:44]>> The book explores disability, trauma, survival, dignity, [music] and community, while asking questions about accountability when systems break down.

[00:02:53]Carraway [music] argues that justice and mercy are not opposing forces, but partners in creating meaningful change [music] in the disability community.

[00:03:02]>> I've spent much of my life working [music] to help build communities and schools where everybody feels safe and as though they belong and are part of the true community.

[00:03:12]>> I think it's about being honest, doing the right thing, and healing.

[00:03:16]>> In Chapel Hill, Baron James, [music] CBS 17 News.