Black Beverly Hills HS students claim experiencing racism in school surrounding election week

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Beverly Hills High School teacher Bella Ivory recalled what she said was a scary moment at school the week of the 2024 election, when a parade of students supporting President-Elect Donald Trump marched down the hallway in front of her classroom.

"It was just a mob of kids," Ivory said." So many kids outside my door. One of them had a Trump flag on a pole, some of them had on MAGA hats. Some just had Trump apparel."

Ivory said someone in the group tried to open her classroom door, upsetting some of her students.

At a recent school board meeting, students like Jurnee, a senior, said that while she's dealt with "a lot of racism" during her time at school, "it became utterly impossible to ignore it" the week of the election.

"From 8:30 to 2:30, all week being in school felt like a nightmare," she said. "What the Black students and Miss Bella had to deal with that week had nothing to do with politics. That week, [being] stormed, being called the N-word… Being shunned, all because you were black became the normal."

Another student, Alexander, told the board that he'd recently "seen slurs scrawled across the walls of our bathrooms. Hateful rhetoric being spoken across the hall, and violent behavior toward Miss Bella and our club."

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Ivory also spoke at the meeting herself. After the meeting, she told FOX 11 about what she saw that week.

"They looked so frightened," she said, of her students. "I said I'm not going to open the door and one of [my] students said they looked like the KKK."

The Beverly Hills Unified School District said in a statement to FOX that "we remain deeply committed to upholding a secure and conscientious setting where students can responsibly and considerately engage in the democratic process.

But district officials said they're also investigating the claims and the situation, using all resources available, including an audio recording from the cell phone of a student in Ivory's classroom, that was posted on social media. 

In the post, Ivory can be heard saying "If anything happens to me at this school, my family will come for your families. If anything happens to my son, I will come for your families."

Ivory said she wasn't making threats, but sharing her feelings in a conversation with students. She claims the audio was edited, and says her message was, essentially, "saying my family is going to come after [any] family that hurts me, kills me whatever, legally, not physically."

Ivory hasn't been in class, and says she plans to go back to work, but wouldn't specify when.

School officials said that demonstrations like the one during election week will not be allowed in the future as long as they cause disruptions.