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*A white male student at Vanderbilt Catholic High School (in Louisiana) was arrested after throwing cotton balls at a Black student and whipping him on the back with a belt like a slave.
The disturbing incident happened last week at the predominately white, private diocesan co-educational institution for grades 8-12, located in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, WWLTV reports. The encounter between the two students was filmed on a cell phone by another student and shared online. In the footage, the Black student stands up and pushes the white student after he began hitting him.
Police are calling it a hate crime. You can watch the moment via the YouTube clip above.
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The school has reportedly launched an investigation into the racially-motived assault. The 15-year-old ninth-grader who initiated the attack was booked into the Terrebonne Parish Juvenile Justice Center and charged with simple battery and a hate crime, per the report.
The archdiocese condemned the antics of the racist white student in a statement Thursday, saying, “[Wednesday’s] actions by a few are not consistent with the values and mission of our school.”
The parents of the Black boy also issued a statement thanking the community for their support. “We will continue to pray for our school community as a whole, that we not only get through this together but that we each learn a valuable lesson from what has taken place.”
The ACLU of Louisiana called the incident an “inexcusable injustice.”
“This was a child who thought what he was doing was ok. Potentially even funny. When we think about bullying, when we think about young children who experience bullying and what happens to them, this is how it starts,” said Director Nora Ahmed.
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