A California middle-school student was suspended for wearing what some consider blackface to a football game. The eight-grader has only been identified as J.A. to protect his privacy.
He was photographed at a high school football game between La Jolla High School and Morse High School sporting face paint that covered more than half of his face.
“We had a fun, great night without any trouble,” the boy’s father explained to Cal Coast News. “I will absolutely clear his name.”
One week after the game, the principal at Muirland Middle School informed the student’s parents that the boy would be suspended for two days and be banned from attending any future sporting events.
In addition, a disciplinary notice said J.A. “painted his face black at a football game” and said there was an “intent to harm.” The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression sent a letter to the principal and requested that the decision to be reversed.
Aaron Terr, the foundation’s director of public advocacy, wrote:
“As the First Amendment protects J.A.’s non-disruptive expression of team spirit via a style commonly used by athletes and fans — notwithstanding your inaccurate description of it as ‘blackface’ — FIRE calls on the school to remove the infraction from J.A.’s disciplinary record and lift the ban on his attendance at future athletic events.”
Terr then asked Muirlands Middle School to reaffirm its “commitment to its binding First Amendment obligations” by responding to his letter no later than Nov. 22.
On Monday, Terr filed another letter to the San Diego Unified School District after hearing that the district denied his request to overturn J.A.’s suspension the same day the foundation sent the first letter.
“There is no evidence J.A.’s face paint caused a disruption — let alone a material and substantial one — at the football game or at school afterward,” Terr stated.