‘Black lives don’t matter’ says Massachusetts high school student in racist Snapchat videos
The South Hadley High School student has thrown the school and district into a tailspin because of homophobic and racist statements.
The South Hadley High School student has thrown the school and district into a tailspin because of homophobic and racist statements like 'Black lives don't matter" and "Black people literally look like shit." The student, who is known to school administrators but not being identified due to her age, can be seen in the videos talking directly to the camera.
Racist Snapchat videos by a South Hadley High School student in Massachusetts have thrown the school and district into a tailspin. Statements like ‘Black lives don’t matter” and “Black people literally look like shit” are among the offensive phrases in the videos.
The student, who is known to school administrators but not being identified due to her age, can be seen in the videos talking directly to the camera. An American flag hangs in the background.
The videos circulated among students at the school via social media earlier this week.
Black and LGBT Lives Don’t Matter
In one statement, the student belittled the Black Lives Matter Movement and wished for the days when Black people were relegated to picking cotton.
“Black lives don’t matter, they should be out there picking my cotton, and they should do my [expletive] work for me,” said the underclassman in one video.
Not one to stop her hatred at just Black people, the student went on to insult LGBT people as well. She bragged about her friends being all straight, white, smokers who vape with e-cigarettes (of all things) and  drink on the weekends.
“I think I’m living pretty good. Like, all my friends are white, none of them are gay and we drink on the weekends; we all Juul it’s actually a pretty good life,” she said in another.
A Piece of Shit
In one video, the student proclaims that she is not a “piece of shit” and instead places that description on all LGBT people and Black people.
“I’m not a piece of shit. And any queer, any Black person, that’s a piece of shit because Black people literally look like shit.”
The School’s Response
South Hadley High School Vice Principal Patrick Lemiuex confirmed to MassLive on Tuesday that it was dealing with a “racial incident,’ but declined to comment directly about the videos.
The content of the videos is a racist incident, not just racial.
By Wednesday, South Hadley Public Schools released this statement:
“South Hadley Public Schools is aware of the inappropriate and discriminatory Snapchat videos that were posted by a student. While these occurred off school grounds, this school system does not tolerate behavior of this type and plans to take all actions within its authority to address this matter to include working collaboratively with the South Hadley Police Department. Rest assured we are taking this incident very seriously and will use this as an educational opportunity to initiate conversations about respecting individual differences and promoting equality and respectful treatment for all.”
South Hadley Public Schools Superintendent Nicholas Young told MassLive that though the district is appalled by the content of the videos, behavior off of school grounds can not always be addressed by the school system.
“We won’t tolerate any inappropriate comments of a racial nature and we will address it fully within the scope of our authority. “At the same time, we can’t police everything that occurs outside of school,” said Young.
The Latest Racist Rant Caught Online
The unidentified South Hadley High School student is only the latest teen or young adult to face the wrath of public opinion once a racist rant becomes viral online. Harley Barber at the University of Alabama, Indiana high school student Mat Blood, and Natalie Martinez of Georgia State University, have all felt the consequences of their racists rants on social media reaching further than their intended immediate social circles.
