Oklahoma School Removes Kids From Class For Wearing "Black Lives Matter" Shirts

Two kids were pulled from class for wearing "Black Lives Matter" shirts to school in Oklahoma.

BYCole Blake
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Two Black students were removed from their classroom at a school in Oklahoma, Friday, for wearing "Black Lives Matter" shirts.

Eight-year-old Ben Stapleton and his five-year-old brother were held in the principal's office and missed recess, lunch, and weekly tutoring for sporting the BLM shirts. Stapleton was called out by his P.E. teacher during gym class for the outfit.

“They pulled me out of P.E. and told me to put my shirt inside out and then I started playing,” Ben told Fox's local affiliate.

Their mother, Jordan Herbert, lambasted the school district for the action.

“Y’all know he knows nothing about politics or his rights, so y’all make him turn it inside out because you don’t like it,” Herbert said.

Scott Olson / Getty Images

Superintendent Kim Holland defended the school's decision saying that school is not the place for politics.

“I understand what she is saying, but school is not the place to have all that, y’know political back and forth and upheaval,” Holland said. “We’re trying to be more neutral in the school and be advocates for all of our children in what they need.”

“Allow my kid to express how his life matters, that’s it, that’s all,” Herbert stated.

[Via]


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About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.