Today’s youth have never known a world without school shootings, and are forced to carry the weight of this country’s violence. So when a Black 13-year-old from Lewisville, TX, heard another student say, “Don’t come to school tomorrow,” the words sounded like a warning.
But her efforts to prevent the next day from becoming another violent tragedy were severely punished.
After confiding in some friends, then her mom, her assistant principal called. There was no gun, and everything would be okay. Until the next day.
For “spreading rumors” about safety, the school disciplined her with suspension and 73 days in an alternative school.
Panic attacks and nightmares colored the eighth grader’s weeks away from class. Her mother, fighting to keep her afloat, found glaring rates of the school’s racially disproportionate disciplinary actions. After two appeals, the district allowed her to return. But the damage was done.
Her mental health declined further. She worried about her academic future. She feared being an outcast. She couldn’t trust adults on campus anymore.
“If I heard something else that could be a threat,” she said, “honestly, I just wouldn’t tell anyone.”
Confronted with violence, a young Black girl prioritized protecting her community. But her punishment, rooted in the legacy of the anti-Black criminal legal system, raises this question: What does “safety” mean, and who is it for?