White student spit on black visitor at African American History Museum on school trip

A white student on a middle school trip to Washington, DC, spat on a black patron at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture on Friday, prompting his class to be ejected from the museum.

The unnamed male student at Shelton Intermediate School in Connecticut spat off a balcony and hit the person below, according to principal Dina Marks, who was accompanying the students. "It was an act of stupidity, disinterest, & immaturity, completely inappropriate, " she tweeted Saturday, "but I believe, not racially motivated against that person."

On Friday night, Marks wrote only that the students had returned to their hotel rooms after "an unfortunate incident."
"Our kids are not bad people," she wrote. "We are all pretty sad tonight."

Chris Clouet, the superintendent of Shelton Public Schools, announced the incident via Facebook on Friday night, telling parents the class had been "thrown out" of the museum. "This is now, regrettably, a pattern of behavior that is disrespectful and does not serve anyone well — including the student who acted inappropriately and embarrassed himself and his school," Clouet said. Clouet said the student had been sent home to Connecticut as the other 13- and 14-year-olds continued their trip. Clouet was not sure if the incident was motivated by racism or horseplay, but added that "too often incidents are covered over by claiming it's only a joke."

Posted on October 12, 2019
Last updated on October 12, 2019
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/davidmack/white-student-spits-black-person-african-american-musuem-dc