KKK Incident at School Prompts Plea for Lessons in Compassion

PETA Offers Free Lessons on ‘How Bigotry Begins’ and More

For Immediate Release:
December 20, 2019

Contact:
Nicole Meyer 202-483-7382

After two students wore white robes resembling KKK garb to Riverton High School on Wednesday, TeachKind—PETA’s humane education division—sent a letter today urging the school to implement lessons in compassion immediately and is offering it free educational resources, including a “How Bigotry Begins” video, as well as a presentation for students.

The video empowers students to examine the intersections of all forms of prejudice against humans and other species throughout history. It focuses on the theme of the systematic “othering” of and discrimination against different groups—an essential lesson given Fremont County School District Superintendent Terry Snyder’s statement that the robe-wearing students “did not have an understanding” of their actions.

“As violence and racism sweep through our schools, students must be taught that it’s wrong to oppress any others who seem ‘different,’” says PETA Program Manager for TeachKind Lisbet Chiriboga. “TeachKind is urging Riverton High School to help prevent future disturbing incidents like this one by implementing humane education immediately.”

“How Bigotry Begins” can help meet Wyoming Content and Performance Standards for students in grades 9 through 12 to integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats and evaluate the credibility and accuracy of each source. TeachKind’s staff is available to send materials to schools, suggest lesson plans, and even host classroom presentations for students—all for free.

TeachKind—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—believes in the equality of all, regardless of race, gender, or species, and opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. The group’s letter is available upon request.

For more information, please visit TeachKind.org.