Black Father At S.C. School Supports Officer Firing

By now, everyone knows the story of how a teenager in a South Carolina classroom was pulled out of a chair onto the floor by a white, male officer. That officer, Ben Fields, has since been fired from the the school. But what amazed many people is that the incident happened in a classroom taught by a Black male teacher, who stood by as the situation happened.

Although it is said that the teen was ‘disruptive’ her worst offense seemed to be that she refused to put her phone away in the classroom. Although debates have ranged from how to handle disruptive children to whether harshly disciplining children who have committed no crimes has its place in a school, many believe that the officer’s response was more violent than the situation required.

One of the parents at Columbia’s Spring Valley High, where the incident took place, spoke out at school board meeting recently. Although we don’t know his name (and if you do, please let us know) his response has gone viral. He says that although he’s not the little girl’s father, he considers her his daughter and he believes that the South Carolina school district should have acted even more swiftly in firing Officer Fields.

Check out his statement and let us know – Do you agree with this parent? And is this the kind of support we’d like to see more from Black men in these kinds of situations?

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