BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) students and their allies at Charles Page High School in Oklahoma walked out in protest of racism at their school following an incident in which an individual handed out "White privilege" cards to students.
These so-called “White privilege cards” are sold as satirical gag gifts on Amazon and are apparently popping up across the country in addition to other areas in Oklahoma, according to FOX 23.
But some students did not see the humor in the item that was reportedly spotted for the first time locally in Sand Springs.
Student Fabian Gaytan told the news station he was called a racial slur as someone handed him a card that read:
“White Privilege Trumps Everything. Member since birth. Good thru death. Card holder, Scott Free."
Previously, a Snapchat offering a cash reward for capturing a Black student whom was referred to as a "slave" circulated online.
Shawnna Davis said she and other students had had enough of the mounting racist incidents within two weeks at the school and staged a protest on Wednesday.
Said Davis:
“It makes me feel horrible. They shouldn’t have to go through this. It doesn’t matter what your race is, your gender, or sexuality."
According to Tulsa World, one of Angela Stites’ twin daughters–who are Native American and Black freshmen at Charles Page High–had one of the cards waved in front of her face by a fellow White student who was laughing about it.
Stites' understanding of the incident was that a few male students were handing out the cards after the mother of one of the students bought them on Amazon and gave them to her son to distribute.
She said the male student was selling the cards for $1 in the morning and then eventually started handing them out after the "sales dried up."
Sand Springs Public Schools Superintendent Sherry Durkee said she and members of her administrative team took immediate action responding to another incident in which a student made racist remarks aimed at a student online.
Durkee told KOTV:
"The bottom line is we want to provide a safe environment, a positive culture so our students feel valued."
You can watch a video of a news report, here.
Sand Springs Students Walk Out Of School In Protest Of Racist Incident youtu.be
And in response to the "White privilege" cards, Durkee said “it has been appropriately handled” and “appropriate disciplinary action was taken.”
She said she was not aware of how many cards have been handed out. “We just know of a few,” she said.
Durkee supports the approximately 40 students who expressed their 1st Amendment rights by walking out in response to the incidents of racism and bullying at the school.
Said, Durkee:
“I think students felt the need to have their voices heard, which is understandable."
"About 40 kids walked out at 11 today. There was no violence. They spoke their piece. They weren’t off campus.
“Then they disassembled and went back to school.”
She added:
“I would say thank you for standing up. I want to hear what you have to say. I think our administrative team does, as well."
“Our job is to educate them, but a part of educating them is to listen to them.”
Yahoo! News strongly indicated the problem was inherent in the lack of education–particularly when it comes to the subject of race as the teaching of critical race theory in public schools is banned in the state of Oklahoma–and the fact that racism is taught at home.
