13-year-old boy told t-shirt is racist by teacher who called for ‘white history month’

A 13 year-old boy said his teacher told him his ‘Black King’ t-shirt was racist, and also called for a white history month.

Latrell Taft, from Edmond in Oklahoma, says the unnamed teacher took issue with his clothing, which was a birthday present, whilst teaching a chemistry lesson on Tuesday.

Taft said: “I’m proud of my blackness and she will never take it away from me.

“I’m a king, cause I think I’m a king.

“She said that if she had a shirt that said white queen, it would have been racist.

“Then after that, she said we need a white history month. I said black people don’t have enough recognition, and we barely learn about Black people in February at my school. I was embarrassed.”

To make matters worse, he said that most of his class at Heartland Middle School agreed with his teacher, that his clothing - which featured an outline of Africa - was racist.

Taft told his mum Melissa Shirley what had happened, and speaking to KFOR she said there were “very few” other black children at the school, and that her initial attempts to report the incident were “brushed off”.

She added that the teacher should “definitely be reprimanded”.

In a statement, Susan Parks-Schlepp, director of communications at Edmond Public Schools, said: “If it is determined that the student was the target of discrimination, bullying, or racism, appropriate and swift action will be taken.”

Whilst the teacher remains employed but is under investigation, Taft no longer wants to return to school, and added that “black is beautiful”.

More: 6 interesting facts about Black History Month that are worth knowing