Black Teen Forced To Remove BLM Mask At Catholic Graduation — the School Is Now Accused Of Racism [Opinion]

A Catholic school in Pennsylvania forced a student to take off his Black Lives Matter mask during a graduation ceremony and is now in the national news for doing so. Of course, racism is being alleged. And of course, a protest march is being planned.

Dear Lord, 2020 cannot be over soon enough.

Black teen forced to take off Black Lives Matter mask at graduation ceremony https://t.co/iOwRaogKYo pic.twitter.com/WbQ0Y9BIjt

— New York Post (@nypost) August 8, 2020

Dean Holmes, 18, donned the mask prior to the July 28 ceremony for the York Catholic High School in York, Pa., in lieu of a face shield. But as he lined up in a procession before the ceremony, he was told by the school principal to remove the covering, Holmes told Fox News.

“I was so mad,” Holmes said. “That’s pretty much them saying ‘No, we don’t care about you at all. We don’t care about your health … and we also don’t care about you as a black man.’”

In a lengthy Facebook post after the incident, John Holmes, Dean’s father, took issue with the school’s actions.

“In my opinion his health and safety were jeopardized when he was forced to remove his Covid-19 protective mask,” he wrote. “Secondly, his freedom of expression was censored when he was compelled to remove his mask or face the very real possibility of not graduating.”

This father is doing nothing but teaching his kid that rules do no apply to him. And, news flash, schools censor students ALL THE TIME and so do places of employment. I could not wear my Trump shirt to any place I’ve ever worked. Are you allowed to wear whatever want to work? If you can, you are lucky and more the exception than the general rule.

The school required everyone to wear a face shield instead of a mask. Two graduates, who requested permission (i.e. followed proper procedures), wore masks.

In a statement on its website, the school said caps or gowns — and now masks — with messages are prohibited at graduation ceremonies. The school said Dean Holmes was asked to remove his mask privately, away from the other graduates and guests.

“The graduate mentioned in the statement by the parent did not seek permission to wear a face mask in addition to the face shield, nor was the face mask worn at all during the 45 minutes prior to the processional portion of the ceremony,” the school said. “It was not until the last minute, right before entering the church, that the face mask with writing was put on.”

This is called a uniform or a dress code. This happens in all places of school and employment. If all the students were allowed to have political messages on their masks or gowns or caps, it would have been a huge distraction and divisive. The focus of the day was celebrating the students’ academic accomplishments, not politics. At least it was supposed to be.

However, the student’s father says the school is racist.

In his social media post, he detailed racist incidents his son was subjected to at the school, including an essay he wrote for English class but wasn’t allowed to read at a speech contest because it “was too controversial.”

“As a parent I will not stand for my son being humiliated publicly, having his basic human dignity crushed on what should have been one of the happiest days of his young life,” he wrote. “My son literally was discriminated against in plain sight based on his race and his prior civil rights activism, and this latest action is part of a pattern and practice of discrimination at York Catholic and it cannot stand unchallenged.”

John Holmes argued that the Black Lives Matter message on his son’s mask was not a political statement.

“It’s a political statement to white folks who are uncomfortable with black issues,” he said.

So, it’s only a political statement if you’re white and racist. Gee, he doesn’t sound confrontational or anything, does he? My sneaking suspicion is that his son’s essay was quite controversial. John Holmes sounds like a drama queen who seeks conflict and is raising his son to do the same. What a HUGE stretch to say his son’s human dignity was crushed. Why does Mr. Holmes believe that his son is above the rules? What makes him so much more special than all the other students who followed the dress code? If a student wanted to wear a MAGA mask, the school would have also said no. Would Mr. Holmes consider that student’s dignity crushed?

This is all much ado about nothing. It’s sad, because this boy’s father is leading his son into so much difficulty and strife in life with this attitude.