Braintree High School Students Walk Out To Protest Racist Incidents
BRAINTREE (CBS) -- High school students in Braintree walked out of the classroom on Monday morning. The students walked ten minutes to rally in front of the Town Hall to protest an alleged racist incident at the school.
The incident came to light over the weekend. Students told WBZ-TV it was on an online video that showed a student using the n-word.
They said the video is the tipping point of a persistent culture of racist incidents that have occurred in Braintree High School.
"These issues that came up this past weekend are just a few of what has been happening for years," said student Loyal Madden.
"We felt like if we didn't take it to the public and we didn't take it somewhere else it was going to get out to the public," said student Gavin Santana.
According to the students, the district and school leaders have not done enough to address the issue.
Braintree High School administrators said about 300 students initially left the building for a peaceful protest. They walked to Five Corners and were escorted by school administrators and police officers. Students spoke and held signs.
When that rally concluded, most students returned to the school but some continued to Town Hall.
"As a school, we recognize that these conversations are critical, and welcome the opportunity to continue discussing the issues brought up by the students who raised their voices today," the school said.
This protest comes on the heels of a walkout that took place at Quincy High School. Students there protested a video that a student made a year ago using racist and hateful language. That video triggered a fight in the school between the student who made the video and someone who confronted them, which was also caught on camera.
Two other videos using hate speech also circulated.
The conversation continued in the classroom. "We gave all of the homeroom teachers talking points to assist with the difficult conversations they may have," said Quincy Superintendent Kevin Mulvey.
"I can't really expect to see progress over the weekend but the teachers bringing light to it and showing that they care and that they wish they were there is pretty awesome," said Quincy student Ronae Tavares.
On Monday night, a meeting for Quincy parents was held to address students' concerns.