A group of black children reportedly forced white children to kneel before them on a playground, but it was the elementary school that landed in hot water because of how long it took them to notify the parents.
Kenwood Elementary School in Ohio landed in deep trouble after a group of students racially abused their peers on the playground, according to authorities. However, what’s even more disturbing is how long it took school officials to contact the parents of the children who are now considered to be the victims of a violent crime.
WHIO-TV 7 reported that a group of black children used physical force to make their white classmates kneel down in front of them on the playground and affirm the racial slogan “Black Lives Matter” and the political organization of the same name. The victims were reportedly assaulted and held against their will until they repeated the phrase to their abusers.
“These are young children, elementary school children who are involved,” Springfield Police Chief Allison Elliot said during a press conference.
Police confirmed that they were investigating “identified assaults” after multiple students “dragged” and “carried” their peers across the playground. A child was also punched in the head by one of the suspects. The police also alleged that the perpetrators filmed the students who were forced to make the affirmation.
Police were informed by the school’s principal that “a group of Black students had gathered several white students on a specific spot of the playground and forced them to state ‘Black Lives Matter’ against their will,” the police report states. Students who tried to avoid the situation were “chased down and escorted, dragged, or carried to the playground,” the report alleges.
Parents Ryan Springer and Ashley Henthorne say their 12-year-old son was one of the ones who was assaulted and forced to proclaim “Black Lives Matter.”
“They basically told him to get down on his knees and say ‘BLM’ and if he didn’t that they was going to beat him up and all that,” Springer said. “I’m not angry about my son saying ‘Black Lives Matter,’ everybody’s life does matter. I’m more about the assault of it, of him being forced down on the ground.”
Although the incident took place on a Friday, Henthorne says the school didn’t notify her that her son had been assaulted until the following Monday.
“I kept asking him all weekend, are you OK? And he kept saying, ‘yeah, I’m just tired.’ And, then, when I got the phone call Monday about it, I was like, ‘that explained a lot.'” Henthrone said.
Springer says that his son has suffered emotional trauma from the incident and didn’t want to return to school.
“He’s like he’s kind of traumatized… he’s not a very confrontational kid. He’s got one of the biggest hearts of any kid around,” he said. “I mean, I’m angry as a parent but I understand they are children. It’s not okay to hate anybody because of their skin color, or their gender or sexual orientation, or anything like that. Nobody should be hating anybody.”
Springfield City Schools released a public statement regarding the incident that seemed to defend the suspects.
“…The SCSD will continue to work for greater acceptance and WILL NOT give up on any student. The District will use this as a learning experience, embrace all students involved and become a stronger Wildcat Family for having been through this together…”
Springfield police confirmed that they were investigating whether the incident was a hate crime and said they were collaborating with prosecutors to formally charge the suspects.
After investigators took over, there was no word from the school indicating whether the suspects will be disciplined at the time of initial reports. Instead, the school seemingly stood behind all students involved, failing to distinguish between the abusers and the victims.
Sadly, this situation is the result of identity politics, and it has infected every aspect of society, including the school system. Unfortunately, our children are suffering the consequences.
