A disturbing photo of high school students has parents and community leaders outraged after it went viral. Now, the Long Beach community is calling the Long Beach Unified School District to get to the bottom of things.
It all started when a student at Cabrillo High School showed the photo to his mother. “Yesterday my son showed me a picture circulating online of students at Cabrillo high school where ASB students gather together to form a derogatory statement in their shirts,” the parent wrote on social media, according to Fox 11 News.
The photo, which appears was taken during a school assembly in the gym, shows eight students— none of whom appear to be Black— all wearing t-shirts that spell out “i <3 n*gers.” The parent continued saying, “100s of parents were outraged as we have been emailing the district and school just to be hit with vague and AI-like responses.” It’s unclear when exactly the photo was taken, but apparently, none of the students involved received any disciplinary actions directly after the spectacle.
“We are truly destroyed that our students have to walk along this excuse for people because my son said he seen all the students the next day attending school like it never happened,” the parent concluded. Now, civil rights and other community groups like the Los Angeles Metropolitan Churches and Project Islamic Hope, are demanding answers from Superintendent Dr. Jill Baker, according to Fox 11.
The district released a statement obtained by NBC 4 News apologizing. “This conduct is unacceptable and does not reflect the values of our school or district. We sincerely apologize for the harm this has caused to our community,” the statement said.
Cabrillo High School said the conduct was “unacceptable” and went on to apologize for the harm it caused. “We want to be clear: this type of behavior is not condoned or tolerated at Cabrillo High School or anywhere in our district,” the school’s administration said in a statement. “Immediate steps are being taken to address the situation, and we are working with all relevant parties to ensure accountability.”
The photo has since gone viral online, with folks from all over wondering how exactly this could’ve happened. “What was the purpose? Like, really, what’s their end game,” @Shiv31 wrote on X. Another user pointed out how the students misspelled the racial slur saying, “More like tried to spell the N word but clearly didn’t learn in school.” @shadowhikari2 continued saying, “Anyways lol suspensions all around if we’re being serious.”
Another user, @angelatcoleman, said “The anti-blackness is out of control and heartbreaking to say the least.” @SharLove40 was furious, tweeting “These kids need to be suspended, and to learn why this is unacceptable! Don’t leave it to the parents because they don’t know either and use the words themselves!”
A formal investigation into the incident is underway. The school also urged students sharing the photo online to be aware of the real damage it can cause.