A Somerset, Kentucky teacher has been met with an avalanche of criticism for recently allowing a student to dress like a Ku Klux Klan member. The group, more commonly referred to as the KKK, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group that has targeted and brutally murdered people of color since the late 1800s.
Jaxson Clark is in the eighth grade at Southern Middle School where the incident took place. With the permission of his mother, the child spoke with Kentucky’s Lex 18 yesterday (May 16) in defense of his instructor. “There was no racist movement behind it. I mean there was Black kids in the classroom. They all thought it was good. Nobody felt targeted,” the child claimed. Clark (who is not the minor seen in the hooded costume) added that students were asked to dress as historical figures and the boy chose Nathan Bedford Forrest, the first KKK Grand Wizard.
Pulaski County Superintendent Patrick Richardson said the instructor, who has yet to be publicly identified, has been placed on leave. “I am extremely disappointed and embarrassed by this incident. I am deeply apologetic of this situation, and I am taking immediate steps to address this matter,” the Kentucky superintendent shared. School administrators have chosen not to discipline the student but to instead inform him of the KKK’s history and explain why his attire was inappropriate. Social media video surfaced online showing the boy wearing the all-white clothing outside of the classroom and on a school bus later that day once the presentation was complete.
Social media users were stunned to learn of the assignment. “Sick and twisted,” one person tweeted. Others wondered how the minor made it past the front door. “Real question is [what] kind of parent was okay with this?” a concerned individual asked. A similar response noted, “Any decent parent would have been horrified if their kid came home and asked for a KKK outfit for a school project.” One accused the teacher of influencing the child with their own views, calling the assignment “grooming.”
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