6-year-old kicked out of daycare after school deems her Black Lives Matter t-shirt 'racist'

A six-year-old girl was reportedly kicked out of her daycare center in Russellville, Arkansas, after she showed up wearing a Black Lives Matter t-shirt. The young girl's mother, Deval Brockman, told reporters that the His Kids Preschool—a faith-based school—told her the shirt was "political" and encouraged racism. Speaking to NBC-affiliate KARK 4, she revealed that her daughter Journei has been attending the pre-school for the past six months but was told on Friday that she was no longer welcome there. "She asked me Friday, 'Can I go back?' No, you can never go back," Brockman explained.

She revealed that although it was a tough message for the kindergartener, it was harder for her to comprehend the call she received from the school on Thursday about a white t-shirt Journei wore that read: All lives can't matter until black lives matter. "She was like 'I don't like it, I don't agree with it,' and I would prefer it if you didn't send her to school in it again," the distraught mother recalled. Determined to get to the bottom of the matter, she reported the issue to state officials and was informed that as long as there was no profanity on the shirt, the youngster could continue wearing it.

"If I'm supporting something, I'm going to wear it, my child is going to wear it, to help say that our voice needs to be heard," said Brockman. However, when she sent Journei to school on Friday in another shirt with a raised fist printed on the back, the school once again raised an issue with the youngster's choice of shirt. Brockman revealed that when she went to pick her daughter up, she was told the shirts were encouraging racism and were no longer welcome at His Kids Preschool.

"I got very upset. I’m just like are you serious? Over a T-shirt?" she said. Brockman also claimed that she was met with harsh words from the school's directors. "He was like, 'I am not going to tell you how to raise your child but you need to reevaluate how you're parenting her,'" she recalled. "I was really upset. It's a T-shirt! There's no profanity. It's just stating the truth, stating facts," Brockman told the Daily News. "They kept saying, 'It's racist. You're teaching your kid there's color.' Well, there is color. If they can't see that, they'll never understand. But it's something they need to know."

Brockman explained that although Journei was saddened by having to leave the school, her family assured her that it wasn't her fault. "She got really upset and started crying that she couldn't see her friends and teachers anymore. I had to tell her she didn't do anything wrong," she revealed. The directors of His Kids Preschool declined to address the issue in an interview and instead said in a statement that the t-shirt expressed Brockman's political views.

"Due to the threat of allegations and under the advisement of the council, His Kids Learning Center will only be releasing this written statement concerning The Brockmans: We feel a childcare environment is not a place for a parent’s political views to be addressed or played out, regardless of race," said the school's director, Patricia Brown, in the statement. Brockman blasted the statement and the school's decision to not allow her daughter back.

"It's not political, it's everyday life, It's all over the news. Right is right and wrong is wrong," said Brockman. "If you're going to a Christian led daycare, let's abide by the bible then." The young mother vowed to continue to teach her daughter the importance of equality and said that she hopes the school will start doing the same.