The Native American veteran and activist Nathan Phillips has agreed to meet with students from Covington Catholic High School to discuss the incident between him and some students from the school that went viral last weekend.
Phillips, an Omaha Nation elder, has offered to visit the school in Northern Kentucky as a "delegate representing the international coalition behind the Indigenous Peoples March to . . . have a dialog about cultural appropriation, racism, and the importance of listening to and respecting diverse cultures," according to a press release from the Lakota People's Law Project.
"Race relations in this country and around the world have reached a boiling point," Phillips said in a statement. "It is sad that on the weekend of a holiday when we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., racial hostility occurred on the steps of the Lincoln memorial, where King gave his 'I Have a Dream' speech."
"Unfortunately, much of the students' behavior was understood by me and those with me as a mockery of our cultures," he continued.
"I have read the statement from Nick Sandmann, the student who stared at me for a long time. He did not apologize, and I believe there are intentional falsehoods in his testimony,"
Phillips said. "But I have faith that human beings can use a moment like this to find a way to gain understanding from one another."
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