In 2024, you’d think we wouldn’t have to tell people blackface is just plain racist, but unfortunately, for two white students in Utah, they’re learning the hard way.
Parents of students at Pine View High School in Utah are rightfully outraged after two students were reportedly awarded a school spirit prize for their off-the-wall getup during a school football game, according to ABC 4. The theme of the Friday night game was “blackout,” referring to one of the school colors: maroon, silver, and black.
The high school boys showed up and out for the game, dressed in black t-shirts, black shorts, black ski-masks, and most notably, blackface?! Yes, you read that correctly. What’s even more shocking is it wasn’t until several parents got involved that the school even saw an issue with it.
One Black parent, Edward Wright, said “Instead of there being consequences and education given at the moment about how wrong it was, it was celebrated.” After winning their awards, the boys posed for a picture with the school’s cheerleading team which was even posted on the school website. Since then, the picture has been taken down.
Wright continued to say his issue isn’t even with the young boys. Instead, the father said an adult should’ve corrected them. “You could have tapped these young men on the shoulder, whispered in their ear and let these young men know the significance of this,” said Wright to KUTV.
“If my daughter is old enough to experience racism, your kid is old enough to learn about it. There’s no way no one at the school failed to understand the racist significance of blackface, but Wright said even if this was the case, that doesn’t make it right. “..Ignorance has consequences.’’
A spokesperson for Salt Lake City’s NAACP branch wrote in response, “This is a time for education to the entire school and the cheer coach. We, the NAACP ask that Superintendent Richard Holmes use this egregious act to educate his district about racism and blackface.”
The Weber County school district said in a statement: “While our staff go through hours of training to prevent bullying, harassment and create a safe environment for all students, we recognize that we must do more so every student feels safe and valued in our schools.”
It continued, “We are committed to an ongoing process of improvement. This is something that we have continuously done and we will continue to do to help our students feel safe.”
Clearly, there’s much work to be done concerning race and historic relevance. But as a simple rule of thumb, don’t paint your face black. We don’t care if it’s for a football game or not!