A 6-year-old girl named Journei Brockman was booted from a daycare in Arkansas after she came to the facility wearing a Black Lives Matter t-shirt supporting the movement.
Brockman had been enrolled at His Kids Preschool in Russellville, Arkansas for the last six months when she came into the facility one day wearing a shirt with the word “Black Lives Matter” on it. It was at the end of the day when she was sent home, then, that her mother says the little girl was told she was no longer welcome at the school after making a “political” statement with the shirt.
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Her mom, Deval Brockman, spoke to Fox 16 in the city about the incident, telling the news outlet that she’d been contacted by an employee from the school saying she had “issues” with the shirt. Brockman was given one warning, but when Journei came to school a week later with a similar BLM shirt on, she was booted from the preschool for good after someone from the staff apparently claimed the shirt “encouraged racism.” Ummm…
One of the daycare school’s directors even said something to her about how she was parenting her little girl, saying (below):
“I am not going to tell you how to raise your child, but you need to reevaluate how you’re parenting her.”
Wow…
The school’s director, Patricia Brown, spoke to the news outlet about the incident, claiming the childcare environment is “not a place for a parent’s political views to be addressed or played out, regardless of race.”
That may hold some sway in some cases, but here — as Deval notes — this is more everyday-life than politics, and it’s certainly a life-and-death situation for black people. To that end, then, she feels as though her daughter’s shirt isn’t inappropriate or out of line in any way. The confused mom addressed it more than that, too, adding:
“If I’m supporting something, I’m going to wear it, my child is going to wear it, to help say that our voice needs to be heard.”
Amen to that!
Below, here’s a news story on the entire incident, including Deval explaining her daughter’s shirt and the family’s political (and social) position aligned with Black Lives Matter:
Well said!
Deval, we are just as confused and mad as you are about this situation, believe us!
Who kicks a six-year-old kid out of a daycare because they don’t like the kid’s shirt… especially when there’s no profanity or anything illegal on it! Come on, Arkansas!!!
[Image via YouTube]
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