Black Olathe High School student reflects on racial harassment he faced in class

13 May 2023

Here's why re-opening schools before next spring will be a disaster

A Black student attending Olathe South High School in Kansas has sounded the alarm on a racially charged incident where he was harassed and bullied by two white students in his class.

According to KSHB, Kirubel Solomon shared details about what transpired during his disheartening interaction with two classmates.

Speaking to The Star on Friday, May 12, Solomon shared his reaction to the students etching the "N-word" on a piece of metal during their jewelry and metal-making class.

"I didn’t say a word,” said Solomon who is the only Black student in his class.

“I gave them a little smile because I knew that they just ruined it for themselves. Like at that point, I had physical evidence on them. But other than that, I was pretty pissed. I was frustrated," he said. "I couldn’t go to class for the rest of the day. I stayed in the office.”

To make matters worse, Solomon revealed this isn't the first time he's been subjected to such horrible treatment.

"All this stuff started at the beginning of the semester in January in my jewelry class," Solomon said. "These three white boys from the start of the semester, they looked at me, they saw that I was Black, and they just started targeting me, harassing me.”

The incident has caught the attention of the media and now local leaders are also looking into what has happened. In the wake of the latest controversy, district officials with Olathe Public Schools have released a statement to address the situation and the actions being taken to investigate what transpired.

“However, we want to be clear that in Olathe Public Schools we are committed to creating an inclusive and safe environment for ALL of our students," officials said in an email. "Racism, hate speech, or slurs of any kind are not tolerated (in) our district or at any of our schools, including Olathe South High School.”

From Your Site Articles