Midlands high school students accused of making video mocking death of George Floyd
LEXINGTON, S.C. (WIS) - A video of White Knoll High School students mocking the death of George Floyd has led to four students not being allowed to return to school this year, according to school principal Ted Daughtery.
The video appears to show one student on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back.
Another student is in a police costume smiling at the camera as he puts his knee on the neck of the other student.
The student on the ground then shakes as the camera pans away.
The video is less than 10 seconds and was shared on TikTok and other social media platforms, according to the school.
“Though the video was created off-campus at a private home and shared outside of school hours, the unacceptable and disturbing actions of these students negatively impact their school and all of our students,” wrote Daughtery in a letter to families and staff of White Knoll on Wednesday.
Lexington School District One Superintendent Dr. Greg Little also condemned the actions of the students in the letter sent to families and staff.
“Racism, in any form, will not be tolerated by our students or staff and will be addressed immediately,” Little said.
The letter says the school began investigating the video once it came to their attention. A petition from students calling on White Knoll to address the situation was started Tuesday afternoon.
“Racism has always been within our school that goes without doubt. However, seeing it so bluntly out there is terrifying,” wrote the petition organizers.”As many of you know three students posted a TikTok recreating and mocking the event of George Floyd’s death. No matter your opinion on George Floyd himself we can agree that mocking his death is immoral, racist, and wrong.”
“Those children, though they are almost adults, would re-enact such a thing, I just – where are people’s morality these days?” said a concerned parent.
White Knoll High School is working with Lexington County Community Mental Health Center to offer support to the school community.
“Over the last few years, White Knoll High’s staff and students have worked collectively toward bringing people together. This incident highlights that we still have work to do. We reaffirm our commitment to ensuring all of our students and staff respect and learn from each other,” Daughtery wrote.
Last year there were reports of Wisconsin high school students doing what was called the “George Floyd” challenge and posting it on social media.
In April, a former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all three charges related to Floyd’s murder.
Floyd died after a police officer kneeled on his neck for more than nine minutes.
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