A disturbing incident at an elite high school in Manhattan has a community outraged after a Black female student was handed a tampon with the saying, “n—– don’t have rights” The NY Daily News reports.
Administrators called an emergency meeting with families to address the racist messaging that was reportedly handed to the only Black ninth grade student by a white student and a Middle Eastern student at Eleanor Roosevelt High School on March 15.
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The girl was horrified sources said and handed it back to the two instigators before finally alerting school officials about the troubling ordeal. Both students were suspended, sources said.
On Monday, Eleanor Roosevelt Principal Dimitri Saliani canceled classes early in order to address the incident head-on with parents and staff.
On Tuesday, a larger meeting was held to get to address issues of the incident at the school where Black students account for only 3% compared to a 64% white student population, according to the outlet. Hispanics make up 12% of the school’s enrollment.
“I felt really infuriated; not really surprised,” said Eleanor Roosevelt junior Veda Faust, 16, of Manhattan. She said hearing about the racial incident made her get emotional.
“The place where you have to be for the next four years is somewhere where you feel like you don’t belong. Where people don’t want you there and you’re not welcome.”
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“I think that El-Ro really preaches this whole diverse and this whole accepting environment, where it’s actually really hard to create that when you have an almost entirely white school body,” said another student, who asked to remain anonymous.
“When things like this happen it’s hard,” the student added. “It makes it seems like the school is lying.”
City Education Department spokeswoman Miranda Barbot said the Eleanor Roosevelt incident was investigated and the students involved disciplinary action would be taken against the students involved.
“Principal Saliani sent a school-wide letter and met with families to reaffirm the importance of a safe and supportive school environment,” Barbot said. “We are continuing to provide support to the school community.”