Greendale High School junior, Chanese Knox, was suspended last month after arguing with another student who called her the n-word.
That incident also lead to a call to the police. The report stated Knox claimed another girl called her the N-word and, when she defended herself, both students were sent to the school office but Knox was the only student, ultimately, suspended.
“We got into an argument because she said she thought the N-word was something that could be said,” Knox recalled.
Diannia Merriett, Knox’s mother, was appalled by her daughter’s suspension, saying, “How could you suspend the victim of a racial slur”
“It’s a struggle every morning,” she said regarding the fact that she was called the n-word multiples times on a daily occurrence. According to friends of Knox, racial slurs at the school are commonplace.
“You have people that will just say [the n-word] freely in the hallways and not realize the magnitude the word has,” senior Yaminah Powell explained, as fellow senior Symone McLain also elaborated, “I shouldn’t have to be afraid to come to school because I feel like I’m going to get angry because somebody’s saying something racist.”
Instead of addressing the issue head-on, the school hid behind “privacy restrictions” saying in a statement: “District administration takes every student, family and staff concern seriously and investigates all matters brought to our attention.
Threats, hate speech and harassment have no place in our school community. In accordance with Federal student privacy laws, we are not able to provide specifics regarding the incident and student consequences referenced. We can tell you that the students involved in this situation have been counseled and appropriate school actions have been taken in accordance with District practice. School administration continues to offer to work with the student and her mother to ensure she feels safe at school.”
According to Merriett, that response is bogus and she wants the suspension stricken from her daughter’s school record.
If this is the case, why are Black students admitting to this being a common theme at the school Why was Chanese Knox suspended instead of the problematic student
