Black University of Mississippi students wrestle with forgiveness in wake of racist gestures

Three Black University of Mississippi students who shared a now-viral Ring camera video of two white students making monkeylike sounds and gestures outside their front door say they received an apology from one woman.

But the other only amplified her behavior, they said, divulging details of the rest of the encounter that weren't captured on camera.

“She continued to make the gestures after the girl was apologizing. It was like a slap in the face,” Victoria Johnson told “CBS Mornings” in an interview that aired Wednesday.

Johnson was joined by her roommates, Jakiyra Metcalf and Kaiyden Caldwell, to talk about the incident that has ignited a firestorm on the Ole Miss campus and across social media. The animalistic gestures and sounds are seen as racist because they were reminiscent of ugly, old stereotypes comparing Black people to simians.

For it to happen at a college community in the Deep South with a long history of racism has added to the raw emotions.

Metcalf saw the video Friday and she and Johnson went outside to talk to the two women, who had another friend with them. She was only seen glancing at the door in the video.

They said one woman, Alaina Kunes, apologized but said they had been making animallike noises and gestures in front of other doors in the apartment complex. But the second woman, who lives in the complex, purportedly kept the antics going off camera.

Metcalf's TikTok post has been viewed over 13 million times in four days. On Monday, the university posted a statement condemning the actions in the video as “offensive, hurtful, and unacceptable behaviors that conflict with our university values.” School officials also said the incident is being investigated and they are dedicated to “maintaining a safe and welcoming environment.”

Kunes, 18, issued a public apology Tuesday through a law firm.

“Before the incident on Nov. 6, I never met the women involved and was unaware of their race, however I recognize my actions were insensitive, inappropriate and deeply harmful,” Kunes said. “I would have never intentionally made those noises or gestures toward a person of color. I have apologized to the women and I pray they will forgive me.”

She has since withdrawn from school. She also said she would fully cooperate with any investigation.

The statement was originally posted on the firm's website, but it had to be taken down because of ongoing harassment, said Kate Gardiner, a spokesperson for the firm.

Kunes will not be speaking beyond the statement, Gardiner added.

The outrage against Kunes and the second woman, who has not publicly identified herself, has also stirred up opposition against using social media to malign them.

Tom Hennessey, an influencer tied to online fundraisers for people criticized for making xenophobic remarks, is credited with starting a fundraiser for the other woman on Christian fundraising platform GiveSendGo. It has raised over $30,000 as of Wednesday afternoon. The fundraising page states the “online mob (is) treating a juvenile stunt as a hate crime because the residents were Black.”

The fundraiser also says it could possibly be canceled if the woman “disavows our support and bends the knee” and apologizes.

When contacted via X, or Twitter, DM, Hennessey said there is a double-standard and less attention is given to Black-on-white crime . He declined to say whether he had been in touch with the student about the fundraiser.

This is not the first time the university has been the backdrop for a Black student dealing with taunting animallike mimicking. In a May 2024 campus demonstration over the Israel-Hamas war, a counterprotester made monkey sounds and gestures at a Black, female student. The interaction was filmed by a student journalist. The video got the attention of outgoing Georgia Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, who appeared to praise the behavior in a tweet.

Ole Miss also has a long history with racism, civil rights and segregation. In 1962, activist James Meredith was the first Black person to be admitted to the school after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in his favor.

Then-Gov. Ross Barnett tried to block his admission but could not disobey federal law, according to the National Museum of African American History & Culture. Still, white objectors instigated a riot on campus. Two bystanders died and over 200 arrests were made.

Metcalf, Caldwell and Johnson hedged when asked if they forgive Kunes.

“I still have very mixed feelings about it,” Metcalf said.

Caldwell said she appreciated the apology but said it doesn't change what happened.

“It's still hurtful, and it's still devastating that someone would go to our camera and do that," Caldwell said.