Smithsonian

Important

Students at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School held a sit-in protest Monday.

The group’s action were in response to a racist video that was filmed three years ago. The video shows students of the Fieldston school chanting racist and homophobic slurs.

Those who took part in the protest say they want to shed light that their school hasn’t done enough to show that intolerance and racism of any kind will not be tolerated.

Students say they’re willing to block administrators from their offices to prompt a discussion about the issue.

Students from Horace Mann School in Riverdale also joined the protest.

“The reasons why we made the walk here because we want to show solidarity for the students at Fieldston,” one protester said. “It’s too late for this, we are getting tired of this. Going forward, we are reunited. We won’t tolerate this.”

They are pushing for bias training for faculty and parents, the hiring of more faculty of color and establishing a new system for reporting bias incidents.

A letter from the private school was sent out to parents regarding the sit-in.

At least one parent says he’s proud that students are standing up for what they believe in.

“I applaud them,” he said. “That is a true sign of bravery. At such a young age, taking a stance and standing up for yourself.”

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