Student Expelled From School For Correcting The Director On The True Meaning Of Juneteenth
Juneteenth is a holiday meant for Black people to celebrate Black history.
geaux_kaay / TikTok A student revealed that she was expelled from her school after attempting to correct the director about the meaning of an extremely important holiday.
In a video, TikToker Kiylijah revealed to viewers that she was kicked out of esthetician school after the director didn't appreciate the feedback she had tried to give her about Juneteenth, a federal holiday meant to commemorate Black people.
She tried telling the director of her school that Juneteenth wasn't meant to be celebrated as a 'diverse holiday.'
"Today, I got kicked out of school because the director at my school didn't like the feedback I had for her about something that she said in class," Kiylijah began in her video. She explained that she goes to an esthetician school, and every Monday everyone will gather for a morning meeting.
For the recent Monday morning meeting, the director of the school announced that on Juneteenth the school would be celebrating the holiday, but instead of commemorating it for its true meaning, the director instead wanted it to be a "diverse holiday."
As soon as Kiylijah heard that, she admitted to being "turned off" at the idea, rightfully so since Juneteenth is a holiday meant to honor Black people's independence and the emancipation of the enslaved. Once the morning meeting was over, Kiylijah decided to speak with the director about it.
She pulled the director aside and the two went to speak in her office privately. Calmly and respectfully, Kiylijah voiced her discomfort with how the director worded the way the school would celebrate Juneteenth. She told the director that Juneteenth isn't a "diverse holiday," or meant to celebrate "diversity."
"She was basically telling me, 'You need to mind your business because you don't know what I have planned for Monday. We're a diverse school therefore we're gonna celebrate this holiday as a diverse day,'" Kiylijah recalled the director telling her.
After hearing that, Kiylijah became even more annoyed, and pointed out that Cinco de Mayo is not celebrated as a "diverse day," and neither is Haitian Flag Day or Indigenous People's Day. "I felt like, why would you take our holiday and try and make it something that it's not."
The director attempted to send Kiylijah home for trying to correct her, and threatened to call the police.
Several moments after Kiylijah's conversation with the director of the school, she was told to pack up her stuff and go home for the day. She was told she would be suspended as well.
When Kiylijah attempted to inquire about why she was being suspended, the director ignored her question and told her that she would need to leave the campus immediately or else the police would be called.
"We got into an argument in front of all of the students in my class," she said of her and the director. "She completely humiliated me, and told everybody that she was suspending me and that I had to go home."
During their argument, the director of the school decided to expel Kiylijah instead of suspending her. Perplexed, Kiylijah pointed out that she was only being expelled because the director's feelings had been hurt because someone had tried to correct her on an important topic.
While Kiylijah had been trying to explain the situation to another teacher, the director proceeded to pull on her backpack and tell her she needed to leave the building immediately. At one point, the director even called Kiylijah "a racist."
"As I'm walking back to the front, she's on the phone with the police," Kiylijah said as she tried to leave the campus. "She told the police I tried to attack her and that I wouldn't leave the building. There are multiple people sitting in this lobby, there were multiple people in my classroom, not once did I try to attack [her]."
"I wasn't being violent," she insisted. "She called the police on me because she didn't like that I didn't like Juneteenth shouldn't be celebrated as a 'diverse holiday.' Students of color, we can't express our feelings without directors at the school feeling like it's an attack on them."
Juneteenth is a holiday meant to celebrate freedom being granted to enslaved people.
When the Civil War came to a close in 1865, there were a number of Black people that were still enslaved and were unaware of their freedom, especially the ones living in remote areas. That was especially the case for slaves in Texas, and it wasn't until June 19, 1865, when Union Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston and issued an order officially freeing them.
Since then, June 19 has been marked as the holiday of the official emancipation in the United States and should be celebrated as such.
Black people in this country are allowed to have a day to celebrate their history, and it shouldn't be made out as something that it's clearly not. Juneteenth represents a pivotal moment in Black history. It highlights the struggle for equality and justice, reminding us of the long journey toward achieving civil rights and ending racial oppression, which we are still passionately fighting for today.
Understanding and acknowledging this history is crucial to fostering empathy, healing, and promoting a more inclusive society, which Kiylijah herself attempted to explain to the director of her school, but instead, she was subjected to a hurtful response.
Acknowledgment is just one way that we can fix this broken system, even if it's only by a little.
Refusing to recognize just how important Juneteenth is as a holiday is not only extremely ignorant but will only be a disservice to the 15 million enslaved men, women, and children who suffered horrific fates during the 400 years of the transatlantic slave trade.
Nia Tipton is a Brooklyn-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.