More than 100 students at Jones College Prep took part in a sit-in protest on Monday, demanding their principal be fired in response to a video showing a student goose stepping in a German military uniform on Halloween. NBC 5’s Kate Chappell reports.
More than 100 students at Jones College Prep took part in a sit-in protest on Monday, demanding their principal be fired in response to a video showing a student goose stepping in a German military uniform on Halloween.
The costume was widely interpreted to represent a Nazi soldier.
"He was going around telling people he was dressed as a Nazi," said senior Max Korte.
"As a Jewish student at Jones, I felt extremely angry and honestly just disappointed in the administration," she said.
Korte joined her classmates in the Black Student Union (BSU) to organize the sit-in. They said multiple complaints have been ignored.
"This is not only about this singular incident. This is a buildup of recurring incidents of racial and ethnic injustice here at the school," said BSU president and senior Jaheim Johnson.
"We want to see district-wide change," said Johnson. "We’re calling on CPS to investigate any reports of racial misconduct or any misconduct."
Local
In a letter to families on Friday, Chicago Public School CEO Pedro Martinez confirmed the school's principal is on leave pending a district investigation.
He went on to say, "I am committed to ensuring that our District is one where students feel safe, welcome, and proud of who they are and their background. Achieving this takes hard work and commitment from all of us to practice tolerance, reject bigotry and hate, create safe spaces for students and staff to express their concerns, and ultimately heal and move forward together. I thank everyone — staff, students, parents and guardians — for their continued support and partnership in this effort."
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Protest organizers say the principal and other school leaders should have taken action immediately when students complained about the Halloween costume.
"A lot of students who had class with him felt uncomfortable to the point they had to step out of class," said senior Isis Gullette.
These young activists hope their message is clear. They want new leadership and a change in school policy.
"I don’t think we can fix anything without starting fresh or starting with people with open minds," said senior Denaye Harris.
"It is more than just this one video, this one instance. We’ve had homophobic comments, racist comments, [and] nothing has been done about it."
CPS did not respond to NBC 5's request for comment regarding the sit-in.
