A valedictorian mentioned Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice in her speech. Then she says her mic was cut

In her valedictorian speech, Rooha Haghar wanted to remind her classmates of those who would not have the same opportunities as they did. So she mentioned Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice, calling them “victims of injustice.”

Then the Dallas graduate said the school cut her mic.

A video of Haghar giving her speech that went viral on Twitter shows Emmett J. Conrad High School principal Temesghen Asmerom giving a thumbs-up after the references to the late black youths before the audio seems to cut out.

Haghar said administrators called the incident a technical difficulty. The Dallas Independent School District said it was looking into it.

“In Dallas ISD, we educate leaders of tomorrow and encourage student voices, and we are looking into this matter,” the district said in a statement to CNN.

Haghar told CNN’s Don Lemon she had two meetings with her principal in which he told her that mentioning Martin and Rice would be outside the guidelines for the valedictorian speech, though she said she had never seen those.

“He also tried to tell me that until you are in a position of power that there is no point of mentioning Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice, which I also disagreed with,” she said.

School administrators edited that statement out of her speech, but Haghar said she decided to go ahead and say them anyway.

When the mic stopped working, she said she was disappointed.

“I was disappointed that adults, who always encouraged us to think for ourselves, (saying) we are the leaders of tomorrow, decided to silence me essentially,” she said.

Backlash over the incident has been swift on Twitter, but Haghar said she saw the matter as a learning opportunity for school officials and that she didn’t want anyone to lose their job.

On Twitter, Haghar posted the section of her speech she wanted to give before it was cut short. The text is below:

“And while we’re receiving our diplomas tonight and moving on to bigger things, there are students who were robbed of this opportunity.

To all the kids who got left behind because their educational needs could not be met,

To all the students that had to drop out to work and help their families financially,

To the Baha’i youth of Iran who are denied access to a higher education by the government, some serving time in prison for wanting to teach and learn,

To the kids that were murdered in senseless mass shootings,

To Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice and all the other children who became victims of injustice,

To the kids across the globe affected by war, famine, persecution and child labor who have lost years of education due to hunger, displacement, lack of finances and lack of educational resources.

I’m sorry.

You see, tonight is a celebration of our achievements, yes. But it is also a reminder of all the work that needs to be done. And as much as I hate to say this, “class of 2019, we just might be the future.” So no matter which path you take in life or where you end up in the next decade, remember you have an obligation to your community, and to the world at large.”