LOS ANGELES (KCAL/KCBS) - One 15--year-old is standing against racism in her school after classmates posted a picture of her under a noose in a digital chat room. When Aina Adewunmi saw the image, she was shocked.
“Oh my God. It’s me being lynched,” she said. “Looking at an image like that of yourself is kind of like...it hurts."
Aina transferred to Palisades Charter High School in January. She said the majority of students quickly accepted her, but three male students at the school posted the noose image, along with racial slurs, in a chat room on May 23.
“I got up and went immediately to the principal. I needed this to be nipped in the bud," Aina said.
She said the picture was taken days before, without her knowledge. The boys have apologized and were suspended for the last few days of the school year. But Aina’s mother, Tracy Adewunmi, said that is not enough.
“The first step is to remove the boys from the school. They cannot be allowed to come back,” Aina’s mother said. “The second step is to educate the population so that people know that this behavior is not acceptable."
She said the police are investigating the case. The family has hired attorney Theida Salazar.
“There’s not been a lawsuit filed, but we are looking at all possible legal avenues to make sure there is recourse for the family and to make sure that there are proper policies and procedures in place that will preclude this from happening in the future,” Salazar said.
As for Aina, she said she is looking forward to returning to Palisades in the fall.
“I think Pali is a good school,” Aina said. “I’m happy I moved and will not be leaving, but this is something that needs to be stopped, because it’s happened in the past and I knew if I did not come out with this story, it would happen over and over again.”
The family said there have been other incidents of racism at the school in the past two years.
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