High school senior Brian Ibe says he was threatened with suspension when he showed up at his Houston, Texas school dressed as a slave for Decades Day on Tuesday.
Ibe, who is African-American, said he wanted to acknowledge the plight of his ancestors so he put together a costume that included a ball and chain, shackles, a shredded shirt with fake blood and a bag of cotton.
“The decade that I picked was the slavery time, which was the 1600s to 1800s,” Ibe told NBC affiliate KPRC.
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School administrators deemed that Ibe’s costume crossed the line, violating the dress code. They threatened to suspend him if he didn’t remove the costume.
According to the dress code posted on the school district’s website, clothing with rips or tears “in a way as to reveal undergarments, midriff, or cleavage” is not acceptable.
He agreed to change out of it to avoid the in-school suspension but disagrees with the way his costume was targeted.
“My point was that this is who I am,” he said. “This is just history. That’s all it is.”
The school district said they could not comment on specific cases, but said in a statement:
“If a student is dressed inappropriately, and/or if their dress is considered a distraction to the learning environment, they will and have been asked to change clothes … Ridge Point High School is encouraging students to express their school spirit this week, while adhering to the dress code.”
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