A teacher in Louisiana is facing a battery charge for allegedly trying to remove a Black Lives Matter hoodie from a ninth-grade student.
The controversial incident happened on March 4 when the Opelousas High School teacher, Patricia Brignac, approached the student and asked him to remove the hoodie, KLFY reported. When the student refused to remove the clothing, Brignac allegedly grabbed him and pushed him towards an office, Police Chief Martin McLendon told KLFY.
Ronald Haley, the student's family attorney, said the teacher targeted the teenager and his twin, who has also worn a Black Lives Matter hoodie to school multiple times.
“It all happened so fast,” Haley said. “It was almost as if the BLM t-shirts these kids had was a bullseye, was the color red, and Patricia Brignac was the bull and charged them.”
The attorney is calling for the educator to be fired and for her record to reflect the incident.
“I find it troubling that she is a teacher at a majority Black high school in Opelousas and harbors such strong feelings against 'Black Lives Matter,' which essentially harbors strong feelings against Black people,” he stated.
According to KATC, the district's dress code states that sweatshirts must be plain, solid-colored in black, white, heather gray or dark navy blue with no emblem, logo or marking.
Haley continues to fight for his client, saying the right to wear Black Lives Matter apparel should be protected.
“The idea that 'Black Lives Matter' is political speech is false and wrong,” he said. “'Black Lives Matter' is a human rights issue.”
The twins said they never been in a class with Brignac, who has been summoned to appear before a judge while being placed on paid administrative leave.
“Once again we have an incident that highlights the pervasive nature of racism in our community. It is a shame that our children cannot be safe to express that their lives matter without fear of assault by those entrusted to protect them,” community activist Jamal Taylor said.
Negative attention to clothing featuring those words is fortunately not always the case. In Ottawa, Canada, students at Notre Dame Catholic High School received a warm reception from teachers when they designed and wore Black Lives Matter shirts.
"We thought it was important to stand up for the causes that are not only close to our hearts, but close to the hearts of all students," Christian Henry, an eleventh-grade student, told CTV News.
Henry said he was happy to see that the school allowed the shirts to be worn as part of their uniform and glad to see the teachers also wearing the brand.
"That really made me smile because it showed us as students that staff wants to support us and they’re here for us," the student said.
