Massachusetts High School Students Hold Walkout Over Racist Video By A White Classmate
A racist video has caused students to stage a walkout at Quincy High School in Quincy, Massachusetts.
According to a press release from Quincy High School, a white freshman student used racist hate speech against Black people in a video that was recorded longer than a year ago, but recently resurfaced on social media. On Nov. 9, there was a physical altercation between the white student and a Black student over the video. The white student was treated for head injuries, CNN reports.
On Nov.12, hundreds of Quincy High School students held a walk out, asking for the White student to be disciplined, no disciplinary actions against the Black student and for the administration to change how racism is handled at the school.
See footage of the walkout below:
Kevin W. Mulvey, who serves as the superintendent of Quincy Public Schools, stated in a press release, “While identifying the issues of racism and hate speech are easily done, the more difficult work is to address the root causes of these conflicts and support the students and staff affected. There are clearly issues with culture and climate that require collaboration with outside resources and strategic planning in order to move forward with reinforcing our schools as safe and supportive environments.”
According to WCVB, Jaiden Harris, one of the students who was reportedly involved in the alteraction, said he regrets that the dispute turned physical and added, "I would just like for him to know what he said wasn't right. When I first saw the video, that's not okay. People can't say the stuff he said and get away with it.”
Another student, Mirlandy Michel, stated, “Imagine the flood of problems like a big dam and finally broke because we're tired of being ignored. All the racism and the homophobia -- and this fight, it was the trigger to all this.”
Today (Nov. 15) at 5 p.m. parents and guardians at Quincy High School will join a virtual community forum with Walker Therapeutic, a behavioral and educational service program.
Superintendent Mulvey described the forum as an immediate response “to the ongoing work that will continue to be done with students on a daily basis through community building, health education and interventions, and peer mentoring”.
