Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell is committed to public safety and public health, like prosecuting drug traffickers and ensuring access to clean water. But she said some of her office’s most important work is addressing hate.

“Who cares about all of that tangible stuff if you don’t feel safe as a student in your school, and if you don’t feel safe in your community?” Campbell told Boston Public Radio on Tuesday.

That’s why Campbell’s office stepped into the Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District after complaints of racist bullying. A federal civil rights complaint was filed against Southwick Regional School after students held a mock slave auction on Snapchat last February.

Campbell spoke to some of the Black students at Southwick, who said the school did not create a safe and supportive environment. One student told her that it was a “violation of her humanity” and that she’s still dealing with the trauma, Campbell said.

“I think it’s important to name that that happens here in Massachusetts. This idea that we’re progressive and we don’t have racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia here in Massachusetts — it’s false. We do,” Campbell said.

This summer, the attorney general’s office released a 12-step action plan to review the school’s policies and procedures and ensure better responses to future bullying incidents.

Beyond Southwick, Campbell said her office’s Children’s Justice Unit is also working with districts across the state to increase training on bullying and harassment. It’s working with students, parents and school staff to develop protocols that would help prevent incidents from happening and shape their responses if something does happen. The unit is also giving training materials to parents.

“That is critically important,” Campbell said. “Kids carry things we know, and they learn quickly from us and how we model our language … how we treat people, and how we talk about folks.”

Campbell said she’s practicing this in her own home with her two sons.

“We are teaching them early on how to respect their classmates,” she said.