Bus Beating
The bus driver calls for help as three teens beat a defenseless boy. YouTube Screenshot of Florida

Civil Rights leaders Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are being criticized for their silence over the violent beating of a 13-year-old Florida boy. The middle school student was beaten up by three 15-year-old students. The 13-year-old is white and the three attackers are black. Outrage over the beating that left the child with two black-eyes and a broken hand extends beyond the cruel nature of the attack.

RELATED: George Zimmerman Verdict In Trayvon Martin Death Sparks Nationwide Protests

So far no Civil Rights leaders or organizations have come out to condemn the attack on the 13-year-old boy. The silence of leaders like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, who were vocal during the George Zimmerman case, has one former congressman calling them hypocrites.

RELATED: Black Panthers George Zimmerman Bounty: Black Panthers Party Offers $10,000 For Capture Vowing Justice For Trayvon Martin [VIDEO]

Allen West is a former Colonel in the United States Army and a former Congressman who also happens to be an African-American. West took to Facebook and Twitter to express his outrage that Sharpton, Jackson, the NAACP as well as the numerous celebrities that spoke about George Zimmerman have not acknowledged this attack.

RELATED: Obama Speaks On George Zimmerman Verdict And Race In America, Says Trayvon Martin 'Could Have Been Me' [VIDEO]

"Three 15-yr-old black teens beat up a 13-yr-old white kid because he told school officials they tried to sell him drugs. Do you hear anything from Sharpton, Jackson, NAACP, Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z, liberal media, or Hollywood? Cat got your tongues or is it that pathetic hypocrisy revealing itself once again? Y'all just make me sick," West wrote on Facebook.

Criticism against those same civil rights leaders also came from the brother of George Zimmerman. Robert Zimmerman Jr. posted a tweet asking Jesse Jackson if racism only works one way.


The attack took place on July 9, but video taken by cell phones of the beating only recently surfaced. In the video you see the 13-year-old riding on the bus with fellow classmates. He is sitting alone in a seat in front of a group of three older boys. Without warning, the older boys attack the 13-year-old punching, kicking and stomping on him more than 20 times.

In the video you can hear the victim calling out for help after he falls to the floor beneath his seat. Students riding the bus sit there in stunned silence and the bus driver calls dispatch for help, but does not stop the attack. The three older teens reportedly attacked the 13-year-old because the younger student turned in the three boys when they allegedly tried to sell him drugs.

The violent attack sparked no outrage from Civil Rights leaders, despite the fact some have described this crime as racially motivated. Many Civil Rights leaders and organizations, as well as celebrities harshly criticized the state of Florida in the wake of the George Zimmerman not guilty verdict. People felt that Zimmerman's crime was racially motivated; riots and protests broke out after the trial.

The bus driver that was a witness to this attack is also under fire. As the three older boys continued to punch and kick the 13-year-old, the bus driver did nothing more than call dispatch and yell for the attackers to leave the victim alone. The older, bigger adult did not step in and stop the teens from attacking the boy.

CNN reports that the bus driver believes he did all he could. The bus company the driver works for also agrees the man did nothing wrong because he is not required to intervene in school fights. People who felt the bus driver should have done more want him brought up on charges. It is possible the driver could face a child neglect charge, but that is up to the prosecutor's office.

The three teens responsible for the attack on their fellow classmate have been expelled from school and have been charged with felony aggravated battery.

© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.