Nevaeh Thomas, 11, was brutally beaten by a young boy in what her family is calling a racially motivated attack.
According to Fox4 News, the incident, which occurred on August 28, left Thomas with a concussion and resulted in her getting stitches.
“Her feelings are more hurt because of the act of, the racial act. Not so much of the scaring,” Thomas’s mother, Brandi Stewart, said.
Thomas was reportedly playing with friends near an apartment complex in Shawnee, Kansas, when the boy, 12, approached her and started calling her racial slurs, KCTV 5 reports. Thomas stood up to the boy, telling him that “My Black is beautiful.” The boy reportedly left but then came back and allegedly hit her with a metal pole, breaking her tooth, leaving a wound that required eight stitches and rendering her unconscious. He is now facing felony battery charges and is on house arrest.
Despite the horrific attack, Thomas is using what happened to her to speak out against hate.
“It’s okay if we’re different or we have different opinions, but it’s not okay to hate and judge someone on the color of their skin,” Thomas said. “I think we should start talking about these things before another kid gets hurt.”
