Hundreds Walk Out In Black Student Union Protest After Racial Slur At Portland Catholic High School

Hundreds of students exercised their right to freedom of speech in a protest at Central Catholic High School in Portland on April 24. The protest is a response to what students have deemed a mishandling of both the school and the Portland Archdiocese’s handling of a racist incident that occurred among the Central High baseball team, Oregon Live reports. Organized by the Black Student Union, senior Kaela Woodard put plans in motion for the walkout, which drew hundreds of students at the 800-student high school. At the time of the protest, the school was presented with a list of demands, including a call for suspension of the entire baseball coaching staff until specific training has been undergone, as well as changes to the school’s anti-racist policies and the request for some varsity baseball players not to be allowed to continue their season. The move comes after an incident involving a racial slur that occurred during a pre-game cheer. Per the students at the school, varsity players on the team hazed a freshman into using the derogatory term.  “Last week, we learned that racial hate speech was used by a member of our baseball team during a pre-game cheer,” the Central Catholic administration said in a statement when the incident first came to light. “This language is offensive, harmful, and in direct conflict with who we are as a school community.” Although the school forfeited two baseball games and canceled in-person classes on Monday and Tuesday to dete…