Hundreds Of Students Walk Girl To Class That Was Racially Harassed
Natasha Nkhama (center, in brown shirt) is accompanied to class by 300 people at Baylor University. Photo courtesy of Marissa Hyland/Marissa Elaine Photography
Students attending Baylor University showed their solidarity and support of a girl that was the victim of a racist attack.
Natasha Nkhama was walking to class when a male student "went out of his way to bump into [her] and shove [her] off the sidewalk." The student also told her, "No n*****s allowed on the sidewalk."
Another male student stuck up for Nkhama saying, "Dude, what are you doing? That's not cool."
"Dude, like what…I'm just trying to make America great again," the student then replied.
Nkhama's friend, Jaileene Maite, recounted the incident on her Twitter account, where the story proceeded to go viral on social media and inspired the hashtag #IWalkWithNatasha.
Following the incident hundreds of students gathered together so that they could walk with Nkhama to her classes on Friday, not only to keep her safe but to show solidarity. As you can see in the two videos below Nkhama is greeted by the crowd with applause and cheers, only going silence when she begins to speak.
"I just wanted to thank everyone for being here," Nkhama said as she addressed the crowd. "I want everyone who sees this to know that Baylor is a campus of love."
"To the gentleman who said those words, I'm praying for you and I love you," Nkhama added. "And everyone here loves you, and we just want to see the world be a better place."
In a statement, Baylor University called the assault "deeply disturbing." School officials said they had connected with Nkhama "to ensure she feels safe and supported by the Baylor community."
"We are a caring, Christian community in which acts of violence and insensitivity have no place," Baylor's vice president for student life, Kevin P. Jackson, said in the statement. "As Baylor Bears, it is our responsibility to care for and treat each other with love, compassion and dignity. Any behavior short of this demands our full attention so that we can hold each other accountable while seeking to reconcile and restore damaged relationships."
