The horrific moment a white high school student punched a black student was captured on video. The government’s response led to a massive strike on Monday.
In the clips, first published by The Kansas City defender, A black student is seen talking to two white girls as she claims one of them called her a “slave.”
It happened earlier this month at Shawnee Mission East High School, just south of Kansas City, close to the Missouri border. Both students are sophomores.
The white students walk away as the black student calls for them to continue the argument.
At that point, a male student, who was not involved in the original conversation, is heard saying, “Man shut up!” The black student turns and shouts down the hall, “Who said that!?”
At the beginning of the fight, you see the white student marching toward the female student and repeatedly using the N-word
The two start hitting each other as he continues to make racist comments
The male student charges at the girl, throws his bag on the ground and physically attacks the black student by pushing her. Despite being at a size disadvantage, the black student continues to fight back against the attack.
‘He said n****r! He said n****r!’” the person who filmed the altercation says repeatedly.
The attack ends when a teacher appears and assaults the male student, causing the pair to be separated.
The gathered students tell the teachers that the white student struck first.
The student was admitted to hospital with a broken nose, reports said The Kansas City star.
The newspaper later reported that a mass walkout took place at the school on Monday, with students apparently furious that the female student had been suspended for five days for her role in the beating.
Despite being at a size disadvantage, the student fights back against her attacker
The fight continues in the school hallway
The gathered students tell the teachers that the white student struck first
‘We demand action! Protect students of color!’, one sign read. “We feel ‘safe’ and ‘Take action now,’ read others. Chants included: “We want change,” “Support us,” and “How many more times.”
The newspaper reports that protesters are demanding stricter penalties for the use of racist slurs in schools.
A spokesperson for the school district told the Star that their office “takes incidents of racism and physical violence very seriously.” We do have a code of conduct and follow our policies and procedures.”
The white student was also suspended for assaulting the student.
The Defender, citing student accounts, said there have been other incidents at the school, including one in which the principal called black students “intimidating” and said they look like they “might jump someone.”
One senior, Charlize Littlejohn, told the Star that racism is “ongoing” at the school.
“There are several situations that have happened over and over again. I think we’re all really tired of trying to make change happen, but it’s just not happening. We’re just exhausted. Trying to go to class, it really affects us,” Littlejohn said.
The student was hospitalized with a broken nose, The Kansas City Star reported
According to U.S. News & World Report, 82 percent of students at Shawnee East are white, while 1.6 percent are black. Just over five percent identify as mixed race
Littlejohn said the victim of the attack was not at the protest Monday, but she drove by and waved to her classmates.
Regarding the suspension of the white student, Littlejohn said, “There was no follow-up, no email was sent and no announcement was made. It wasn’t recognized.’
‘We were all there. We all watched it. It was emotional and traumatizing. I want things to change. Anyone who was there will not feel safe. I’m not going to feel safe in the classroom.’
‘Because that could have been anyone. He could have done it to anyone. And I think it’s just scary that something like this could happen within a school,” she added.
According to US News and World Report, 82 percent of students at Shawnee East are white, while 1.6 percent are black. Just over five percent identify as mixed race.
Overall, there is a minority enrollment of 18 percent. It is ranked the second-best high school in the state for performance on state-required tests.
A former teacher, David Muhammad, also spoke about the incident to the Star, saying students felt “vulnerable” at school.
“People don’t talk about this because they don’t feel equipped to have a conversation.” The reality is that you have students who are looking for teachers and administrators to be the well-trained people in the room to guide them in these situations.”
‘They are in a vulnerable condition. You can’t solve that by just saying that we have a mission that everyone belongs here and that we expect people to behave a certain way. It does not work. There has to be a commitment to find out what is really going on,” he said.
In 2021, a video of Mohammed organizing a discussion among the school’s students about the merits of the Confederate flag went viral.