A high school student took her teacher to task during a presentation on racism last week in a scene that was captured on camera and uploaded on YouTube. Now it's gone viral.



When the teacher — a white male — allegedly attempted to argue that white people were also the victims of racism, a student of color powerfully responded with an explanation about the historical context and systemic injustices of racism in the U.S. The video was initially posted on a Facebook page called But That's None Of My Business and has gained more than one million views, although it's unclear what happened in the moments leading up to the confrontation and where it exactly took place.

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"Racism is based on the systematic oppression of people. White people have never suffered that," the student says. "Yeah, you've tried to say it's possible. Yeah, in the future it's possible to like have some form of systematic oppression of white people. But it’s never happened."

YouTube - youtube.com

The notion that white people can be the victims of racism in the same way that minorities in the U.S. have historically been is basically an extension of white privilege in that it represents a misunderstanding of the contextual circumstances that enabled racism in the first place, the student argues.

"You saying it’s not going to be up for argument — it’s kind of like you, as a white man, saying what is and what is not racist," she said. "That's what's been happening throughout the centuries. For you to tell me that, it doesn’t make me believe you, because that’s what’s been said to us for so long."



The student's speech prompted snaps and applause throughout the room. The teacher stood by silently, listening to the student engage in a conversation that is going on around in classrooms across the country.