A little boy was punished at his school in Oklahoma after he proudly wore a Black Lives MatterĀ (BLM) t-shirt to class.
Eight-year-old Ben Stapleton was ordered by the principal at Charles Evans Elementary School to turn his BLM shirt inside out after he put it on for a PE lesson last week, local broadcaster KXII reports.
When he wore the top again, he was allegedly taken out of class and forced to sit in the principalās office for hours in what his mum has branded āmodern-day segregation.ā
Addressing her sonās punshiers, the mother Jordan Herbert said: āHe knows nothing about politics or his rights, so you (made) him turn it inside out because you donāt like it.ā
The following day, she decided to send all three of her children to school in BLM tees.
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Two of the kids, including Ben and his five-year-old younger brother, were removed from class, according to their furious mum.
They spent the day in the principalās office, missing breaktime, lunch with their friends, and Benās weekly tutoring session, she explained.
Speaking to McClatchy News, Herbert claimed that her son was forced to face a wall for six hours in the school office.
āThey say no disciplinary action was taken, but making them sit in the office missing everything was modern day segregation,ā she said.
Her elder son was reportedly not punished for wearing his shirt.
Jordan Herbert said her son had been subjected to āmodern-day segregationā
Ardmore City Schools Superintendent Kim Holland told KXII that the issue stemmed from the schoolās dress code policy, which prohibits āany clothing or apparel that could disrupt the learning process.ā
Responding to Herbertās complaints, Holland said: āI understand what she is saying, but school is not the place to have all that political back and forth and upheaval.
āWeāre trying to teach kids things like reading and writing.ā
He added: āWeāre trying to be more neutral in the school and be advocates for all of our children in what they need.ā
Kim Holland told the broadcaster that schools should be about āreading and writingā not āpolitical upheavalā
The schoolās dress code states that āshirts and tops with sayings or logos printed on them should be in good taste and school appropriate.ā
A group of students and supporters protested outside the school on Wednesday, with Ben holding up a sign reading: āEducation! Not Discrimination!ā
His mother told KXII that there was just one thing she wanted from the school district.
āAllow my kid to express how his life matters,ā she said. āThatās it, thatās all.ā