Video Shows Black Elementary Students Attacking White Students, Forcing Them to Say ‘Black Lives Matter’
‘This has been blown completely and totally out of proportion,’ local NAACP president says
Surveillance video of an incident that occurred on Feb. 10 shows a number of black students at Kenwood Elementary School in Springfield, Ohio, physically attacking white students and reportedly forcing them to say “black lives matter.”
Police were not called to the school about the incident until Monday, Feb. 13.
The video of the assault, which took place during recess, begins with a much bigger black student forcibly escorting a smaller white student across the pavement of an outdoor basketball area. At one point, the bigger student smacks the smaller student in the head. Another black student joins them, grabbing the white student’s other arm to help the bigger student take the struggling victim to an area of cement where there are two sets of swings. According to reports, the video was blurred to protect the identities of the minors involved.
A third black student charges in, knocking the white student to the ground. The third black student bends over the white student, repeatedly punching them in the head before standing up and walking away. The white student is then hauled up from the ground by three black students. Staggering and dazed, the white student is manhandled briefly before being forced to kneel on the cement. At one point, the stunned white student falls over onto the cement, only to be physically lifted back up onto their knees. According to police reports, the student was forced to say “black lives matter.”
A second white student approaches, seeming to try to come to the other white student’s aid. But the second white student is confronted by the black students and is also instructed to kneel on the ground. As four black students stand over them, reports say they demanded both white students say “black lives matter” while the black students filmed them obeying. At one point, the five black students in the video can be seen excitedly jumping up and down as if celebrating.
A third white student, wearing a red hoodie, is made to kneel on the sidewalk with the other two. In the meantime, the first white student, who had been punched in the head, appears to be repeatedly shoved and knocked around by two of the black students.
‘Chased Down,’ ‘Dragged or Carried’
According to Dayton 2 25/7 Now, Kenwood Elementary School Principal Evan Hunsaker told police that some of the white students who tried to avoid the assault were “chased down and escorted, dragged or carried” to the area near the swings.
In a Feb. 13 post on social media, Krystal Harr—the mother of one of the assaulted students issued a warning to all “Kenwood Elementary families.”
“I just wanted to let people know that my 12 year old was really forced on his knees Friday and to say blm,” Harr said. “Watch your babies! This is getting unsafe!” In the comment thread, Harr said her son was “thrown to the ground.” She also said that “the teacher watched it all.”
“I’m checking into a lawyer for sure,” Harr added. “This is insane. Poor kid is terrified to go to school.”
Another victim’s parent, Ryan Springer, told local station WHIO that he was angry about his son being forced on his knees to say “black lives matter” or get beat up.
“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,” Spinger 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.”
In a Feb. 20 statement shared by WKEF, the Springfield City School District said “the events that took place at Kenwood Elementary, unfortunately, had to be referred to law enforcement officials, which limited the district’s ability to share information with our families.”
“While privacy laws only allow the District to provide details about the discipline of a child to their parent or guardian, the Springfield City School District does not approve of and will not tolerate the reported behavior,” the statement said further. “The Springfield Police Division is in the process of pursuing charges for involved students based upon the ongoing investigation and the District will issue appropriate school discipline in accordance with Board Policy.”
The district further promised that it would “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.”
‘A Teachable Moment’
Springfield NAACP President Denise Williams told WKEF on Feb. 24, “I don’t care what color they are. They need to be held accountable.”
However, she doesn’t believe the black students should face any charges because the assaults have been blown out of proportion.
“This is a teachable moment,” Williams said in agreement with the district’s “learning experience” sentiment. “We need to really educate the school, and the parents.”
A week later, Williams still believes the racially motivated attack is no big deal.
“This whole thing has been blown completely out of proportion,” Williams told The Epoch Times on March 3. “This is not something that needs national attention. Trust and believe. This has been blown completely and totally out of proportion. I’m not standing for it, this racial tension. It’s blown completely out of proportion and we’re still trying to resolve it, and that’s all I want to say and I’ll leave it at that.”
At a Feb. 20 press conference, Springfield Police Chief Allison Elliott said “multiple students were assaulted on the playground,” and that the department had opened an investigation
“As a result of this investigation, we are actively pursuing charges for the identified assaults,” Elliott said, adding that the incident remains under investigation and that anyone with information about what happened should contact Springfield Police Division at 937-324-7716 or 937-324-7685.
The Epoch Times reached out to Kenwood Elementary School and to the School District and the Springfield Police Department several times but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
