Students Walk Out Of High School After A Girl Had To Remove Her Black Lives Matter T-Shirt

Buckeye High School in Arizona said the girl was told to remove her T-shirt because it "interfered" with the learning process and became "a potential danger to students."

Students at Buckeye High School in Arizona staged a walkout Monday to protest discrimination after the school forced a girl to remove her Black Lives Matter T-shirt.

So inspired by this high school student walk-out over a #BlackLivesMatter t-shirt in Buckeye, AZ right now.

Mariah Havard, a 10th-grade student, said on Facebook that school officials told her to remove her Black Lives Matter shirt on Aug. 23 because it was "creating a disruption in the learning of education."

In solidarity with the buckeye students! End the injustice! #blacklivesmatter

In her Facebook post — shared by more than 1,000 people —Havard said that the vice principal handed her a plain white shirt to change into after telling her that she wasn't allowed to wear her BLM shirt because she had previously argued with a "young caucasian boy who said 'black lives don't matter' and 'that shirt is meaningless.'"

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Havard said that she had been verbally attacked several times while wearing her T-shirt. She also said she had seen another student wearing a "confederate flag t-shirt that clearly supports racism."

"At this point i'm starting to believe theirs a problem with the word black?" Havard wrote. "It must be since they don't teach us about black people in school or tell me that me standing for my people against police brutality is 'disruptive in a learning environment.'"

Genesis Santoyo, another student who wore a BLM T-shirt to support Havard, told 12 News that she was also asked to change. "I felt like I was being punished for who I am,” Santoyo said.

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In a statement responding to the incident, the Buckeye Union High School District said, "The district strives to remain politically neutral while still allowing student expression. However, when these expressions interfere with the learning process and become a potential danger to students, they have to be addressed."

Buckeye High School performed a walk… https://t.co/P4H1bUFjMy #BlackLivesMatter #BuckeyeHighSchool #PuenteArizona

About 10 students were involved, and they were joined by some of their parents, a diversity consultant, and a pastor, who said there was "systemic racism" at the school.

"Power conceives nothing without demand! We are with you!" #blacklivesmatter #wematter @mvmt4bl @LaVozaz

CORRECTION

The student who wore the Black Lives Matter t-shirt is Mariah Havard. A previous version of the story misspelled her last name.

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