Dozens of students at a Kansas high school walked out of class in protest of the handling of an altercation involving a white student who punched and yelled racial slurs at a Black classmate, per the Kansas City Star.
Charlize Littlejohn, a senior at Shawnee Mission East High School, said the incident unfolded in the hallway last week. A video obtained by the Kansas City Star showed a Black student saying “Don’t say nothing unless you’re gonna come say it to my face" before a white student told her to “Shut the **** up.”
The Black student began to approach the white student when he charged toward her and shouted the n-word. The white student pushed the Black female student before they both started to hit each other.
According to students, the Black student was taken to the hospital with a broken nose following the altercation.
It's unclear what punishment the white student may have received, but students protested, saying his suspension wasn't enough.
“We heard he’s coming back in three days,” Sanaia Nelson, a junior, said.
During the protest, Students wielded signs that read “We demand action! Protect students of color,” “We don’t feel safe,” and “Take action now.”
“This has been an ongoing issue with racism at East. There are multiple situations that have happened over and over again,” Littlejohn said. “I think we’re all just really tired of trying to get change and it just not happening. We’re just exhausted. Trying to go to class, it really affects us.”
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