On Friday, Native American marchers took to the streets of Washington, D.C. for the Indigenous Peoples March. A small group went out and brought their drums to pray, sing, and chant. But on the same day, the March for Life protest was also happening in the area. A group of high school students, which the Cincinnati Enquirer reports is from Covington Catholic High School — an all-boys private school in Park Hills, Kentucky — was seen taunting the chanting elder. This was all caught on video.
The video, which has now gone viral, shows a huge sea of teenage boys wearing red MAGA hats, and some sporting the Covington logo, surrounding this small group of Native Americans. They chant loudly to try and overpower the singing elder and his drum, and many of them are also seen laughing in the background, as well as capturing the whole encounter on their phones.
One of the posts that show the video (by @lilnativeboy) details that the group was "praying & singing for these white devils even though they were provoking them." They stood their ground and stayed strong, despite the disrespect.
While there is no absolute confirmation that these boys are from Covington Catholic High School, Laura Keener, the communications director with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington, released a statement saying, "We are just now learning about this incident and regret it took place. We are looking into it." People are now calling on the school's principal, Bob Rowe, for a statement.
It's important that the school's administration be held accountable for the student's actions, as it seems that the culture of toxic white supremacy might be permeating within their institution. They need to be informed about their students' culture, and clearly need to educate them on what it means to honor people of color, and the different cultures that exist in the country.
I dgaf if they are minors. They need to be identified. What school are they from? Who was chaperoning them? This is one of the most horrific displays of ignorance, racism & disrespect. My god. I feel sick. pic.twitter.com/oUsiVY5pNA
— Lulu Says (@lulu_says2) January 19, 2019
Imagine sending the students at your school to D.C. on a field trip to protest abortion rights, and you wind up making national news because your students surround, mock, and harass a Native American elder on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.#CovingtonCatholic
— Charlotte Clymer🏳️🌈 (@cmclymer) January 19, 2019
This is a betrayal of everything Jesus taught & practiced & a mockery of Christian values. As a Muslim who went to a Catholic high school, we were asked to be "men for others." I hope Covington Catholic High School has a come to Jesus moment w/ these kids, who should know better. https://t.co/Utcycx2Cob
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) January 19, 2019
If you'd like to reach Principal Rowe, and have any suggestions or strong opinions about the event, @lilnativeboy points out that you can reach him via email at browe@covcath.org.
Image via YouTube