8-year-old boy punished for wearing Black Lives Matter shirt to school in Oklahoma, mom says
An 8-year-old boy who wore a Black Lives Matter shirt to his elementary school in Oklahoma was forced to turn it inside out by his principal and then punished when he wore it again, his mother said in a series of Facebook posts.
Mom Jordan Herbert said her son Ben was disciplined at Charles Evans Elementary last month due to the school’s decision that the shirt violated a policy from the school’s superintendent barring “political” apparel.
“My son is 8 he has no idea about politics and wearing a Black Lives Matter shirts has NOTHIN to do with politics,” Herbert wrote in her post.
“He’s simply sayin his life matters. Oh yea he’s the 2nd kid at Charles Evans to get made to turn his shirt inside out. Y’all will hear my mouth until something is done about this here BS,” she wrote.
Herbert said Ben was first told to hide his shirt’s Black Lives Matter message last month.
The mom later sent all three of her sons to school wearing Black Lives Matter shirts last Tuesday.
She said her middle school-aged son Jaelon was not punished, but Ben and his younger sibling were.
Herbert said Ben was forced to miss recess and ended up eating his lunch in the office.
According to the elementary school’s handbook, principals make final decisions regarding whether a “saying or logos” are appropriate, The Daily Ardmoreite reported.
“It’s our interpretation of not creating a disturbance in school,” Ardmore City Schools Superintendent Kim Holland told the newspaper.
“I don’t want my kids wearing MAGA hats or Trump shirts to school either because it just creates, in this emotionally charged environment, anxiety and issues that I don’t want our kids to deal with,” Holland said.
The Board of Education may review the dress code, Holland told the paper.
