But Holmes, an 18-year-old student from Cosumnes Oaks High School in Elk Grove, California, said the school’s student activities director wouldn’t hear his arguments and told him he was violating graduation dress requirements, which only allow decorating caps and gowns with medals, cords or pins received though the school.
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So Holmes made a decision to wear a kente cloth over his graduation robes when he received his diploma from Cosumnes Oaks High School.
Elk Grove Unified spokeswoman Xanthi Pinkerton told the Sacramento Bee on Friday it was unfortunate that Holmes was escorted out of the commencement.
School officials did not take kindly to his decision.
The student, Nyree Holmes, told the Black Star he wore the decorative cloth atop his graduation robes in order to wear something that represented his culture during the ceremony.
After he was booted, Holmes said he and his father tried to retrieve the teen’s diploma, but school officials refused to give it up. The Atlanta Black Star also identified him as a merit scholar.
At the bottom of the stairs of the stage, Holmes was greeted by three police officers that informed him that he needed to leave the vicinity immediately. According to Holmes, he wanted to wear the bright, multi-colored cloth that was originally crafted for Ashanti royalty but has become a worldwide symbol of African pride, “as a representation of my pride in my ancestors, to display my cultural and religious heritage”.
A California high school student was forcibly removed from his own graduation for wearing a kente cloth around his shoulders as he crossed the stage. The student was given his diploma.
However, after basking in the moment, Holmes said he was met by security as he exited the platform. School officials at Cosumnes Oaks High responded by saying, “The district’s approved graduation uniform is a cap and gown”.
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Generally speaking, it is within the District’s discretion and prerogative to impose rules for graduation ceremony dress code and attire which apply generally to all students, and which do not discriminate against any specific student viewpoint.
