Two White High School Students’ Racist Snapchat Video Goes Viral; Black Students Punished

A high school in Florida is under fire after a recent racist video has gone viral. And what makes it even worse is that school administrators failed to correctly respond to it.

News4Jax received an edited version of the Snapchat video which shows two white students, including one who wore a Klu Klux Klan-style white hood, laughing and using racial slurs that seemed to be intended for their Yulee High School classmates.

The video was also sent to a group of Black students who then confronted the two creators of the video. As a result, a physical altercation transpired, The Daily Beast reported.

The school’s district assistant superintendent said both parties were reprimanded. Parents of the group of teens who confronted the filmmakers say their kids were suspended for five days. However, nothing happened to the kids who appeared in the video.

Now, parents want answers from the school administrators on why the situation was handled how it was. They met on Wednesday night to discuss the issue.

“The purpose of this meeting is to make sure we are all moving as one, aligned on the goal, establish an effective way to communicate, and most importantly, the beginning steps of positive forward progress,” said parent Melissa Ricks in a Facebook post.

One parent in attendance called out Principal Yvon Joinville for flubbing the situation.

“Basically his fear is this going public, not that it’s been mishandled, not that they didn’t address the real issue at hand. None of the above,” the parent, who was not identified, told News4Jax in Jacksonville. “It’s that he doesn’t want the public knowing about this.”

The video eventually spread throughout the school. Ricks, one of the parents of a child suspended, says there is an underlying issue of racism at the school.

“All we need is an administration that cares about the issues and is willing to publicly bring awareness to our students and our community, that they are actively looking for ways and resolutions to bring in the parents, bring in the students, and figure out a way to bring these kids together and stop allowing the separation,” she told News4Jax.

Nassau County School District Assistant Superintendent Mark Durham made a statement on the matter last Friday, saying both the district and the high school “want to make it clear that acts of discrimination based on race will not be tolerated on our campuses or toward our students.
Individuals committing such acts will be subject to disciplinary consequences. We recognize that many students were negatively affected by the content of this video and the school is prepared to support their needs.” He also added that the video was taken over the summer and not on school property.

One parent told the local CW affiliate news channel that the whole ordeal was unbelievable, saying that the kids who made the “vile, nasty, distasteful video” are still able to go to school while the students who stood up “to defend themselves are sitting at home.”