5 min read
Major Takeaways
- A Ring camera recorded two women making monkey noises and gestures outside an apartment shared by three Black Ole Miss students.
- The 13 second clip has passed 11 million views since student Jakiyra Metcalf posted it on Friday night.
- Ole Miss says two campus offices are investigating and calls the behavior deeply troubling, hurtful and unacceptable.
- A mother of one student wants answers on accountability, and the school warns that one accused student was misidentified.
Ole Miss is investigating a viral video that Black families across Mississippi cannot unsee.
A doorbell camera caught racist gestures aimed at the home of three Black students.
The school condemned the behavior on Sunday and promised a thorough review.
For the students who live behind that door, the question is simple. Will the university protect them?
1. What the Ole Miss Camera Captured on Friday Night
The footage is time stamped Friday, November 6, at about 8:37 in the evening.
Three white women walk past an apartment door in the short clip.
Two of them stop, stare into the camera and make monkey noises and gestures.
One beats her chest as she performs for the lens.
The third woman walks behind them and glances at the door.
Student Jakiyra Metcalf posted the 13 second video on TikTok that night.
She tagged the school and asked what it had to say about this.
In a comment, Metcalf said the women are her upstairs neighbors.
The apartment in the video is shared by three Black students.
2. A Mother Demands Answers From Ole Miss
Tasha Bolton shared the video on Facebook for her own daughter.
Her daughter sent her the footage from the apartment she shares with two Black roommates.
“The video has been shared with university administration, and we want answers,” Bolton wrote.
“Specifically, what steps will be taken to address this behavior and ensure accountability?” she asked.
Bolton said college is supposed to be a place where young adults can learn, grow and feel safe.
That sentence carries the whole story for Black parents everywhere.
Parents send their children to Oxford expecting classrooms, friendships and a future.
They do not expect a racist performance at the front door.
3. Ole Miss Says Two Offices Are Investigating
On Sunday, November 8, the university answered with a formal letter.
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Shawnboda Mead issued the statement to the campus community.
“The behavior depicted in this video is deeply troubling, hurtful, and unacceptable,” Mead wrote.
She said the conduct does not reflect the values of the university.
Two offices are now investigating the matter, according to Mead.
They are the Office of Conflict Resolution and Student Conduct and the Equal Opportunity and Regulatory Compliance office.
A university representative said the school has reached out to the students who were targeted.
Those students were offered information, resources and support, the representative said.
Mead pointed students who need help to the University Counseling Center.
She also named UMatter, the student support and advocacy service on campus.
4. The School Warns That One Student Was Misidentified
The clip has now passed 11 million views online.
Names spread fast, and the university says at least one name is wrong.
Mead warned that one student accused of involvement was actually misidentified.
“To be clear, no members of our sorority community were involved,” she wrote.
She said sharing unverified information can cause harm to innocent people.
The university has not confirmed the identities of the women in the video.
Former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho condemned the video as racist harassment.
Acho also urged viewers not to identify anyone without confirmation.
That caution matters, because accountability built on a wrong name helps no one.
5. A Familiar Wound at Ole Miss
Black students at Ole Miss have seen this script before.
In May 2024, a white student was filmed making monkey noises at a Black woman during a campus protest.
Chancellor Glenn Boyce opened a student conduct investigation in that case.
The student fraternity, Phi Delta Theta, removed him from membership.
Two years later, the same taunt appears at a Black student home.
That repetition is why a single apology will not settle this.
Students are watching whether consequences follow the condemnation this time.
6. What Black Students Are Owed on Campus
A home is supposed to be the one place a student can rest.
When harassment reaches the doorstep, the whole promise of college shakes.
Black students already carry the work of watching their backs in class and in town.
Campus safety is not an abstract debate for our families.
Readers saw that pain again in the homecoming shootings at Winston Salem State this fall.
Mississippi is also living a historic week for Black political power.
Ballots are still being counted in the Mississippi Senate race that could send a Black man to Washington.
Progress at the ballot box means little if students are taunted at home.
7. What Happens Next in the Ole Miss Investigation
The university has not said how long its investigation will take.
It has not said what discipline could follow for anyone found responsible.
Mead said any disciplinary action will not be shared publicly.
She cited student privacy laws for that limit on disclosure.
She also said the matter is being taken seriously.
For Metcalf and her roommates, serious will be measured in what changes.
They still live in that apartment, beneath the neighbors in the video.
Follow continuing coverage of Mississippi and Black student life at Urban City Podcast.
