This black student was suspended for doing something white students do all the time

Dontadrian Bruce was suspended from school on Feb. 3 for a controversial picture he used for a biology project. The photo in question simply shows Bruce in his football jersey holding up his thumb, pointer and middle fingers. PolicyMic reports that, according to his assistant principal Todd Nichols, he was throwing up gang signs. It took three days to not only confirm the punishment, but recommend him for expulsion.

What happened here? Bruce claims that the three fingers represents the number on his jersey. He has no previous record and now he’s being subjected to possible expulsion. If you’re wondering where the mentality stems from, this clever comic will shed some light.

This isn’t the first time this kind of incident has occurred. Earlier this year, a predominantly-white Sheboygan Falls High School suspended two black students for throwing up what “looked like” gang signs in a photo on campus. Their punishment was ultimately overturned following a major media backlash. Bruce is set that the school’s administration really thought he was a gang member. His stepdad, an alumni of the school, claims if he was a white student, they wouldn’t have said anything.

“I was born and raised here, graduated from Olive Branch, and I’m telling you: they would have done nothing,” he said.

The school eventually invited Bruce back to class but they’re still standing by their “due process”. However the family plans to work with an ACLU attorney to guarantee that this incident does not smear their son’s outstanding record.

Tony Centeno (@_tonyMC)