Story contains references to bullying and transphobia that some GLUE readers may find distressing.
A video posted by a high school student in Tennessee is the latest LGBTQ+ rights clip to go viral on Tiktok.
At least one black student has allegedly been suspended from a Knoxville, Tennessee high school when he, along with at least one other, defended a student who is trans and who was being bullied and deadnamed in the school hallways.
Willum can be seen seemingly in a locked classroom, looking visibly shaken, with police waiting outside, claiming that his school had called the police after he defended his classmate.
“I’m being suspended right now at Fulton High School in Knoxville, Tennessee because I stuck up for a trans woman” he said. “She has the freaking police outside.”
“And the bullies are not facing any repercussions, but we are”, he says then adding “I’m not ashamed.”
“She has two fu*king policemen outside because she said I was threatening and being combative.”
“I was not being combative at all. I was just asking a series of questions about what was going on and why I was facing punishment for standing up for someone who was getting bullied”.
“She said I was using profanity, so what. What are you going to do about the actual bullies that were making fun of her in the hallway and humiliated her?” “What is going to happen to them? Nothing,”
Later he says “they literally threaten her life”, then “do y’all know the life expectancy of a black trans woman?”
Towards the end of the video Willum says “This is what it feels like to be Black and be part of the LGBTQ+ community in Knoxville, Tennessee at a Knox County school. This raggedy ass school. I can’t fucking stand this school.”
“Please spread this. It needs to be spread, something needs to happen.”
Consider it spread!
The clip has since gone viral on Tiktok, garnering more than 700,000 views.
Video below or watch it here.