What seemed like a fast friendship devolved to racism, says a black student in Los Angeles, California. Aina Adewunmi, 15, transferred to the Palisades Charter High School in January, and became well acquainted with her classmates, including three boys. But her relationship with the trio turned ugly when on May 23, they posted an image to the chemistry class group chat of her photoshopped with a noose.
“I was like, ‘Oh my god, it’s me being lynched,’” she told the New York Daily News.
Things had gotten tense with the boys even before the picture. They had added her to a group chat where they used the N-word, she said. Adewunmi told them to stop it. “I said they can’t use the word, and that’s when I thought I set the boundary, she said.” She even told one of them they didn’t want anything to do with him anymore after he kept doing racist things.
So after the noose image was posted, she immediately went to the principal. The result wasn’t enough for her and her mother Tracy Adewunmi. The boys were suspended for the last several days of school, and she won’t have to be in class with them again, but nothing more was done.
“The kids at Pali need to know there zero tolerance for this,” she said. “It shouldn’t even be a question whether they should be expelled.”
Police are investigating, the family told CBSLA, and they have hired an attorney to represent them.
“There has not been a lawsuit filed,” said lawyer Theida Salazar. “But we are looking at all possible legal avenues to make sure there is recourse for the family and to make sure that there are proper polices and procedures in place that will preclude this from happening in the future.”
LawNewz.com has reached out to Palisades Charter High School to learn more about their policies, and their response to Adewunmi’s story.
[Screengrab via CBSLA.com]