Update on Bullied Asian Kid

Thanks to Annie from Boston, who posted this.  It looks like the Asian kid (who is from Korea) will be reinstated, and the suspension will be removed from his record.  The Asian boy still faces criminal charges, but the families of the two boys have made amends, and the White boy has apologized for the racial slur.  The White boy’s family has also called the police and asked for the charges to be dropped.

I think this is a great example of strong activism.  The kids at the school walked out on Monday, and by doing so, they brought attention from the media and pressure on the school for a huge injustice.  Even though they’re kids, they are the ones who are acting like adults.

By the way, I think the Korean boy’s father and lawyer handled this very well.  Quotes from the lawyer in the article above:

“I credit the student body and the attention of the media for giving this story the spotlight it deserved,” he said. “This is a story presented to the public as an affront to common sense. A boy was racially taunted in school, a boy was attacked without provocation and did no more than defend himself.”

….

Mr. Koven said this case raises a number of questions that still need to be answered, beginning with why the Korean-born student was suspended in the first place, why he was given the maximum 20 days, and why the board felt it had to reverse itself. He said the Education Act states that a principal should consider whether harassment because of race or ethnic origin may be a mitigating factor in the incident leading to suspension.

The Korean father from here:

“I don’t want to run away. If another Asian kid comes to this school, what happens to him? Will he run into problems? Will they think they can just kick him out? I don’t want to set that example,” he said.

By the way, it looks like the White boy’s family has some issues with their kids:

The day after the fight, an older cousin of their son’s antagonist approached him in the school cafeteria and uttered a similar slur, compounding their sense of despair.

“He said, ‘You punched my cousin you Chinese fuck,’ ” the 15-year-old said. That student was overheard by a teacher and suspended.

Glad to hear that the teachers did the right thing.  Hopefully the White family will take action to correct their kids’ behavior.  It all starts with family.

Related posts:

1. Deportee Becomes Activist
2. Deep Pockets and Asian American Culture
3. Asian Kid Defends Self and Gets Charged
4. Better Asian Man: Jaehwan's Official Review