Kentucky school comes under fire

Less than a week ago, Covington Catholic High School in Parks Hill, Ky., was known mostly for its seven state titles in football and its rousing motto, “A spirit that will not die.”

By Tuesday, its phones had been shut off, its website and social media accounts had gone dark, police cars were barricading its entrances, and classes were canceled along with a basketball game as the overwhelmingly white, all-boys school found itself a symbol of the nation’s deep divisions over race, class and culture.

The transformation began with an online video that appeared to show a group of Covington Catholic boys in “Make American Great Again” hats mocking a Native American protester as he beat a ceremonial drum at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on Friday. Subsequent videos showed a more complicated three-way confrontation, involving a cluster of men calling themselves the Black Hebrew Israelites who hurled insults at the boys and the Native Americans.

“People saw the original video and took an early side, and they are just not budging from that side,” said Hayden Bode, who graduated from Covington Catholic last year and was part of a small group who came to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington on Tuesday to support the students.

In the wake of the incident, parents, alumni and others have rallied to the school’s defense, with many changing their social media profiles to say things like “I stand with Covington Catholic High School.” Others, though, have gone on the attack against the 586-student school, situated just outside Covington in Park Hills.