It has been the subject of controversy a video that shows students at Caldwell High School in Idaho protesting the right to wear culturally significant clothing items or emblazoned with the words “brown pride”. The video’s been viewed by more than 1.6 million people on TikTok and later shared on other platforms, the video of the manifesto came from a situation experienced by the Latin high school student, Brenda Hernandez, in which she was accused of racism.

The student   who wore a sweatshirt with “brown pride” written on it was warned by the principal of the institution that she violated the dress code, as her clothing was related to the participation of racist gangs, as there was also similarity to   the racism of supporters of “white pride”.

According to NBC,  Caldwell High School’s dress code policy prohibits the ‘wearing, using, carrying, or displaying any other gang clothing or attire, or style, jewelry, emblem, badge, symbol, sign, codes, tattoos, or other things or items which evidence membership or affiliation in any gang is prohibited on any school premises or at any school sponsored activity at any time’.”

“NBC News contacted Caldwell High School officials and was directed to the Caldwell School District’s director of communications, Jessica Watts, who responded in an email statement: ‘In making this decision our research shows the term ‘Brown Pride’ is associated with street gangs currently operating in the Northwest. Therefore, students are not allowed per District Policy to wear clothing affiliated with gangs. We understand that some students may be concerned with this Policy’.”

The public information officer for the city of Caldwell, the Caldwell Police Department and the Caldwell Fire Department, said there are two primary gangs in the region they are dealing with — the Norteños and the Sureños.

According to information collected by NBC, Caldwell police found that the Brown Pride Sureños were a subset of the Sureños and that they became active in around the last two years.

On the other hand, Sonny Ligas, director of the Idaho chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, and owner of “Jefito Hats”, inaugurated in 1997 – the local community brand that made the “Brown Pride” sweatshirt – said the merchandise has become popular with young people and is often used by students from various high schools. The store sells chicano-style hats, clothes and accessories.

“It really irritates me when they can stereotype, you know, saying that it’s gang-related," Ligas said. “I’m not gang-related — how are we going to allow these people to manchar [stain] a culture with their palabras [words] that they know nothing about whatsoever?”

Student Brenda Hernandez, who is the brand’s model, said she believes wearing culturally significant clothing comes from a place of comfort, a way to show her pride. She said she organized the peaceful protest according to her school’s principal.

According to the Caldwell School District’s 2022 spring enrollment figures, 62.5% of K-12 students are Latino. More than 99% of all enrolled students come from low-income families. A quarter of Canyon County’s population, which includes the city of Caldwell, is Hispanic. Latinos account for 24% of the state’s population growth in the last decade, accordingto a 2021 Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs report.

Caldwell school officials’ handling of the protest is also an issue, said students who also reported that they were offended and that their parents and the media did not get the facts from the school.

According to NBC, other community members, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho, intended to address the issues at a LULAC meeting.