Christ the King High School is currently in the hot seat after refusing to allow one of the school’s seniors to get ‘Malcolm X’ printed on his senior sweater.
He told NY Daily News that school official Veronica Arbitello told him Malcolm X isn’t someone he “wants to be associated with.”
The gag is, despite her opinions on the legendary Malcolm Little AKA Detroit Red AKA Malcolm X, the boy’s name is Malcolm Xavier — Malcolm X for short.
“All I wanted was the ‘X.’ My name is Malcolm Xavier Combs,” he said.
Malcolm’s parents were fuming!
“They pulled him out of class to tell him that a man who said, ‘A man without an education, you have nothing,’ is someone he shouldn’t be associated with,” Malcolm’s mom, Mychelle Combs said.
That’s not where the buck stops though. Malcolm goes on to claim that after Arbitello pulled him from his advanced placement English class to tell him his name request had been denied, she added insult to injury by allegedly making fun of his name, calling him “the NEW Malcolm X”
“I felt insulted. They just laughed at me … that’s my name, Malcolm X., not a nickname,” he said.
Malcolm canceled his $40 sweater order.
Although the family is offended, Malcolm’s mom says she doesn’t plan to file a lawsuit — instead, she demands that school undergoes “culture-sensitivity training, increase minority staffers and embrace different cultures.”
Even after backlash, the school still refuses to honor Malcolm’s name request. We are interested to see how this cookie crumbles!
TSR STAFF: Chantel Kelli! @_popchanny!
