Schools at every level love to claim famous alumni as theirs, holding them up as good examples of what success looks like. That is not true of one North Texas prep school, though. Because their famous alumnus is Richard Spencer, prominent white nationalist and self-proclaimed leader of the alt-right movement.
St. Mark’s School of Texas is an all-male preparatory high school in Dallas. When Spencer was first linked to the school, officials decided to not comment and just let things blow over. That is, until, a November 19 rally in Washington D.C.
Video of Spencer’s speech at that rally showed him shouting:
“Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory!”
The words were accompanied, of course, with the Nazi salute. Now, leaders at St. Mark’s are outright condemning Spencer and what he stands for. Headmaster David Dini released a statement on Friday publicly distancing the school from its most infamous alumnus:
“On Friday, November 18th in our annual Thanksgiving message to alumni, parents, and faculty, we referenced recent news stories that connect St. Mark’s to ideas expressed by one of our graduates that conflict directly with our core values and principles. Just one day later, video footage emerged of this alumnus leading a white nationalist meeting in Washington, D.C., bringing even greater attention to these hateful,divisive, racist, and anti-Semitic views. This has been deeply troubling and terribly upsetting to our whole school community. At St. Mark’s, we reject racism and bigotry in all its forms and expressions. Our mission, values, and programs stand in direct opposition to these vulgar ideas. In light of such comments, our mission to develop boys of strong character, compassion, empathy, and courage has increasing relevance and importance.”
And other St. Mark’s alumni are stepping forward to demonstrate their distaste for Spencer and commitment to bettering the world around them. A campaign launched to help bring refugees to the Dallas area has raised over $40,000 so far, while encouraging the school to make a public break with Spencer.
Now, they have. Looks like if Spencer wants to raise support for his racist “political movement,” he’ll need to find another place to look. He’s no longer welcome at his alma mater.
Watch clips from Spencer’s horrifying speech here:
Featured Image: Screenshot Via YouTube Video.
