A couple of student-athletes at the University of Houston are in hot water for mocking a notorious lynching site in a video that subsequently circulated widely on social media, prompting some students to say they’re not surprised by their classmates’ insensitive behavior.
The video posted to an anonymous Twitter account Sunday showed two white collegiate volleyball players, Abbie Jackson and Isabel Theut, in a car, the University of Houston’s student newspaper The Cougar reported. There is no audio in the video, but it is captioned, “This is the hanging tree where we used to hang people (Columbus, Texas).”
The camera focuses on a tree in the distance, then moves to Jackson—a graduate student in the business school—who is driving, then shifts to Theut—a senior—who’s sitting behind Jackson and filming the location on her phone. The video continuously loops the footage of Jackson and Theut laughing during the ride. It is not clear who filmed Theut and Jackson’s reactions, but the anonymous Twitter account alleged freshman volleyball player Ryleigh Whitekettle uploaded it to her Snapchat.
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The video was taken where two Black teen boys were publicly lynched in November 1935. A mob of hundreds of white men targeted Ernest Collins, 15, and Benny Mitchell, 16, after the body of a white woman was discovered on her family’s farm in Columbus, according to the Equal Justice Initiative.
The teens were put on trial for murder because they worked near the location where her body was found but they were stopped by a mob of 700 people while being transported to the courthouse, chained together, and tied up in a tree until they died. The mob prided themselves on seeking “justice.” No one was apprehended in the boys’ murders.
University of Houston football player Latrell Bankston was among a handful of students to speak out.
“The real problem is people are going to overlook this situation with the typical, ‘We are so sorry. We are not racist.’ This is the time to finally make the right decision to take steps into ending this. It’s been over 400 years and we’re still ignorant to the fact it still happens,” he tweeted.
“The way I am treated here at this university is not the best, and I think it does have something to do with skin tone,” a student-athlete, who was not identified, told ABC13 Houston. “So when I hear about little things… I'm not surprised, but it is disappointing.”
A University of Houston graduate student wrote on Twitter: “For a school that boasts diversity, inclusion, anti-discrimination, especially using student athletes as an avenue, this ain’t it. Do better.”
Another student, who said she aspired to play volleyball at the university, told NBC2 Houston that she no longer felt safe at school.
“As someone who wanted to play for UH Volleyball… and to see how they are treating it and acting like it’s OK… shows a lot about how this school is,” she said.
The Twitter video elicited a slew of horrified reactions. “If I were the teammates of these despicable girls, I would ask them to leave the team,” one person posted under the video.
Media outlets tried to contact the volleyball players involved but were unsuccessful in reaching them. Twitter profiles for Jackson, Theut, and Whitekettle had been deleted by Sunday, The Cougar reported.
The University of Houston posted a statement regarding the video on its website.
“The video… is inconsistent with our efforts to foster a diverse, inclusive and respectful environment,” the statement read. “As the second most diverse public research institution in the country, we encourage constructive and respectful dialogue, cultural awareness, and a spirit of unity. We understand the concerns this has caused.”
