Black British children called the N-word in random attacks while visiting a US school for new Channel 4 documentary

Two Black British teenagers were left in shock after being subjected to horrific racism during a school trip to rural Arkansas as part of a new TV experiment.

Dae-Jaun and Richae, both 14, attend the Elmgreen school in Lambeth, in south London.

The pair joined other children in travelling more than 4,000 miles to the southern US city of Mena, where they switched lives with other kids from the area for Channel 4‘s programme Class Apart: The Great US School Swap.   

The region, which has been described as ‘very conservative’, came as quite a shock to the duo as most of the school’s population is white American.

During the trip, the students headed to an American football game in a bid to enjoy the local culture.

While watching the game, a girl from a neighbouring school called him the N-word.

‘I’m not from here so I don’t know what I was supposed to do or how I was supposed to react,’ he explained. 

‘So I didn’t really say anything.’

Dae-Jaun (L) was called the N-word in Mena during the TV experiment and said he wasn’t sure what to do about it 

A girl from a neighbouring school said the racial slur to Dae-Jaun during an American football game 

Fellow Londoner Richae was also subjected to racial slurs in the hallways of Mena High School, where two boys said: ‘Tell that n**** to go home. We don’t want any n***** around here.’

‘I was a bit shocked,’ she revealed. ‘I was like, ‘I thought you lot were nice.’

Mr Thomas, the head of year at Elmgreen school said: ‘I have to be honest, the first few days I was nervous and worried, everyday leaving school and going,’ he admitted. 

‘I remember the police followed me to school one morning and I was panicking. 

‘The drive is about three minutes but that was a long three minutes that police car was behind me for. I was worried and I thought ‘This is it’.’

‘I’m fuming. Are people hiding it? This is a 14-year-old kid. It’s not the first time they’ve had racist comments and that’s the sad thing. 

‘If we were at home that would be a different situation but we’re not at home and I feel like we have to be careful. America is known for some crazy things that happen at school with young people so I would not want to push it and make something crazy happen.’

The teacher reported the comments to Vice Principal Mrs Ashcraft and said they felt ‘a bit unsafe’. 

Fellow Londoner Richae, pictured, was also subjected to racial slurs in the hallways of Mena High School

Mr Thomas, (pictured), the head of year at Elmgreen school said he also felt nervous and worried in Mena 

Vice Principal Mrs Ashcraft – pictured – said it ‘broke her heart’ that the children experienced racism 

She said: ‘I’m sorry, it just breaks my heart. No matter how many times you think you’re past it, something else happens.’

The teacher added that she has tried her hardest to ensure that ‘every kid gets a shot no matter what’. 

Elsewhere, American school pupil Jayla, who is mixed race, talked about her experience with racism in Mena.  

‘For me to be bi-racial in this school is difficult but you have to learn to be proud of it,’ she expressed.

‘My dad’s heritage is African American and Hispanic, I’m very proud of my race. I wore a bracelet saying Black Lives Matter once and people tried to cut it off.’

Dae-Jaun has also felt unsafe in south London, calling it a ‘complicated area’. 

He was accepted, alongside his British classmate Jude, onto Mena’s basketball team for the duration of their time there. 

However, it’s a bittersweet sport for him as he was once jumped and held at knifepoint while playing in the English capital city with his friends.

American school pupil Jayla, who is mixed race, talked about her experience with racism in Mena and said someone once cut off her Black Lives Matter bracelet 

Dae-Jaun was once jumped and held at knifepoint while playing in the English capital city with his friends

Dae-Jaun’s mother Hilary said she didn’t realise how much being held at knifepoint had affected her son

This led to him bringing a knife into school as he feared for his safety when travelling around Lambeth, but he was caught when it fell out of his bag into the corridor. 

His mother Hilary said: ‘As a parent you don’t want someone to call you and say ‘your child’s come to school with a knife’.

‘I said to him ‘Is that the life you want to lead?’ And he said ‘Mum I don’t want to die’. There wasn’t anything I could say. I went quiet because I didn’t realise it had affected him that much.’ 

After 18 months into his secondary school, Dae-Jaun had to start again at Elmgreeen and build up a new group of friends. 

Speaking about what life is like living in his area, Dae-Jaun said: ‘At one point my mum was scared to let me go to the shops and it’s like a five minute walk. 

‘No mother should ever feel scared that her child can’t leave the house without being injured or losing their life. Being away from all of that has been able to give us a break and live our lives.’   

Elsewhere at Elmgreen, the children from Arkansas experienced Black History Month – seemingly for the first time.

American Jayla said: ‘It felt good to be represented,’ after finding out that she has Nigerian roots on her father’s side. 

She added: ‘When dad’s [in Arkansas], he doesn’t like going out in public that often, when I’m in the store with my dad, you can feel people looking at you because you’re different.’

Jayla has also been teased at school because of her race in the past, and found out that children were passing around notes with a racial slur on about her in Mena. 

Jayla’s mother Jessica teared up as she spoke about the racism that her daughter experiences in Mena 

Fellow US student Sailor – who is white – felt as though some pupils in London judged her hometown without ‘hearing her out’

Her mother Jessica said, while tearing up: ‘Kids are so comfortable to run up to her and say the N word and run off. You want your child to fit in but it’s like to what extent do they have to go to for them to fit in.’

Jayla felt as though she fit in well in London and said: ‘I don’t feel judged by anyone anymore,’ adding that she didn’t want to leave and go home. 

However, fellow US student Sailor – who is white – felt as though some pupils judged her hometown without ‘hearing her out’.

‘Do London people do their research because when I said I was from Arkansas, one of the girls was like ‘Oh, y’all are racist’ and then ran away,’ she shared.

‘It felt like a personal attack, I’m like the opposite. It’s different now than it used to be. 

‘She didn’t hear me out. I feel like America has a bad stereotype, or maybe not America, Arkansas.’