High Schooler Suspended, Gave Noose & KKK Symbol To Black Classmate
Ayvaunn Penn, Your Black World
Racism is never a laughing matter, but apparently some students of Wisconsin’s Baldwin-Woodville High School think it is. A number of classmates do not understand why an unnamed white male ninth-grade student had to be suspended for placing a KKK symbol and macramé noose on a black student’s desk while in art class. The 15-year-old victim is also unnamed. The foster mother of the victim, Sarah Hitzeman, told Star Tribune that her daughter “has been experiencing racial comments since [she] join[ed] [her] family her eighth-grade year. Her freshman year started out with students calling her ‘Big Mocha’ and making fun of her hair and breasts.” This act, however, crosses the line.
The school principal, Eric Russell, and other school administrators were simply going to suspended the boy for a single day, and leave it at that. Although the student was suspended on December 14th, 2012, further reprimands were set in place after an NAACP representative initiated communications with the school on Hitzeman’s behalf. According to the mother, her daughter was being ostracized and taunted by fellow students who believe she overreacted to the prank. To this, the mother says, “To have a school that has no tolerance for bullying but a lot of tolerance for racial issues isn’t right. I want my daughter to understand this isn’t okay, and she doesn’t have to accept it.”
Russel informed Star Tribune that he appointed a stricter suspension that went into effect at the start of Christmas break, yet he did not disclose any further details concerning the duration of the punishment. He did, however, go on record saying that the male student’s actions were “absolutely not acceptable.”
The founder of The Penn Speaks and Your Black Poets, Ayvaunn Penn is an award-winning writer pursuing her graduate degrees in dramatic writing and acting. To follow her on Facebook, click here. To have Ayvaunn Penn feature your original poetry on Your Black Poets, click here.
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6 Responses to High Schooler Suspended, Gave Noose & KKK Symbol To Black Classmate
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Good and he should’ve known better at 14 in 2013.
Miss T
January 4, 2013 at 4:00 pm
A worst thing happen at Westminster High School whewe my grand daughter attends,on 12/23/12 a cross was burned at her home in in Westminster ,MD….I am waiting to see what happens,you may qoogle “Westminster ,MD. Cross Burning” for further Info
John H Taylor
January 4, 2013 at 7:38 pm
Cross buring on the premises of your grand daughter in this day and age and we are not doing anything about this. Hey world….wake up. This is unbelieveable. We need to have more details about this, then find the culprit(s) and press the necessary charges. We cannot allow our children to live in a world of fear and to feel unequal to others. Gone are the days of Black Panthers, Black Power, Malcom X, Martin Luther King, Stockley Carmichael movements who brought awareness to these situations and made a difference. Rosa Park – one lady, brought about radical changes —- we can still do it— we need to be heard.
Collectively through education, which begins at home, we all will make a difference, since we all are equal in God’s eyes. We need to provide a comfortable living environment for our young people — free from such fearful racists experiences especially in these modern times. Peace in 2013
Consuelo
January 4, 2013 at 10:19 pm
They called her Big Mocha and made fun of her hair and breasts…what did this foster mother think would happen next???why did she keep her in this school?whyy is she still in this school?because even when these kids clearly show they are bigots this woman still thinks being around whites is still better than sending her somewhere with black kids
Latrice
January 4, 2013 at 11:48 pm
IT still comes down to, (white skin–white privilege.) unfortunately white people can not take what they dish out. It is time to change the school system. EVERY SCHOOL MUST HAVE 1/8 OF ALMOST ALL RACES IN ALL PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN THE US THAT WAY IT may PUT A STOP TO THIS FOOLISHNESS. Children have to get to know other cultures, maybe this can be a start. Children know only what they have been taught.
BERNICE
January 5, 2013 at 12:45 am
Oh lawdy lawdy! Dat am racist!!! Good Googly Moogly.
Bitter Silverback
January 6, 2013 at 11:17 am