An investigation has been launched at Beverly Hills High School following Black students and an instructor’s claims that they were harassed and intimidated by white pupils during a racist demonstration on campus. Video acquired by Fox 11 showed the mob of teenagers gathered outside of teacher Bella Ivory’s classroom with a pro-Donald Trump flag on Election Day.
The fashion instructor recalled that on Nov. 5, there were “just so many kids outside my door. … One of them had a Trump flag on a pole... some of them had on MAGA hats, some just had on Trump fan apparel.” In the footage, multiple students are observed knocking on the door. On the other side were students who were terrified. Ivory reassured the young scholars that she would not breach their safety by opening the door. “Students said they looked like the KKK,” she told the news outlet.
According to the Beverly Hills Courier, a school security guard was also shown holding up a Trump flag during the lunchtime demonstration. Days later, on Nov. 10, Principal Drew Stewart issued the following statement: “While student political expression is an important tenet, it does have limits. Unfortunately, over the past two days there have been multiple instances of students assembling in a manner that has created a material disruption to the operation of our school, as well as the education of our students.” As a result, students are prohibited from assembling in mob-like fashion, shouting, jumping or making physical contact with peers.
On Nov. 12, the school board heard directly from Ivory and her students who were impacted by the protest. “Although I was aware of the pure hatred and racism in my time being here, it was never expressed in the way that it was last week,” said one teen. Another said, “That week, being stormed, being called the N-word, being shunned all because you were Black became the normal.” A male student recounted seeing “racial slurs scrawled across the walls of our bathrooms, hateful rhetoric being spoken by fellow students in the hallways we share, and violent behavior towards Ms. Bella and our club [the Black Student Union].”
Following the meeting, Superintendent Dr. Michael Bregy told the Courier, “We sincerely appreciate all of the speakers who contributed this evening. Alongside my colleagues, I take all concerns regarding hate speech and safety extremely seriously, and we are actively addressing these through regular meetings with our students. As we heard during public comment, our community includes individuals with varying perspectives, and we are listening to all voices as we continue to navigate this important dialogue.”
The uncivil celebration comes as the FBI has launched two investigations into racist texts targeting Black, Latino and LGBTQ+ communities with texts threatening deportation and enslavement post-election. Trump, who was reelected four years after completing his first term, has been largely blamed for inciting the uptick of division in the country.