In years past, students all wore identical golden stoles over their graduation gowns, but this year the school allowed students to choose.
Leanna Albrect, the communication director for the Clover Park School District, explains, ‘We recognize the unique challenges our students face in earning a high school diploma, and we celebrate their important achievement. In designing this celebration, our focus is on wearing an item that represents a student’s culture or connection to school clubs that are tied to culture.’Veness and Ingram were both given traditional kente stoles as graduation gifts.
“Maybe it’s just clothing to other people. But this is one way we can represent being African American being that strong woman,” says Veness. But just a week before their graduation, both students were told that their stoles could no longer be worn to graduation. Ingram says the school’s principal called her dad to say her stole was too political.Scroll down to continue reading