A California teacher clearly missed the internet’s repeated warning not to wear blackface for Halloween, and his choice to do so may cost him his job.
A student recorded a 23-second video of the teacher wearing blackface in class.
“Sooooooooo… one of our WHITE teachers at mhs yesterday decided to paint his face so look like common the rapper yesterday,” Twitter user @karrington_kk wrote, along with the clip.
In the clip, the teacher raps and mimics Common’s artificial intelligence ads for Microsoft.
Sooooooooo… one of our WHITE teachers at mhs yesterday decided to paint his face so look like common the rapper yesterday. pic.twitter.com/1WudSddCLZ
— karrington (@karrington_kk) November 1, 2019
She later added that the “school just told him to clean up.”
The school just told him to clean up…
— karrington (@karrington_kk) November 2, 2019
The video has been viewed over 500,000 since it was originally posted, prompting the school in question, Milpitas High School, to take action against the teacher (who has yet to be identified) by putting him on leave.
The school’s principal, Francis Rojas, and the district’s superintendent, Cheryl Jordan, released a joint statement addressing the controversy. In the statement, they said that blackface “has a historical and present-day connotation of racism that demeans those of African ancestry.”
“In a school community where we welcome learners and families from over 50 languages who represent cultures and religions throughout the world … it hurts to know that this type of cultural insensitivity and lack of cultural awareness still hovers in the background,” they further explained.
https://twitter.com/LedgerTaylor/status/1191833769495408640
Yet, despite the obvious repercussions and repeated warning to not wear blackface for Halloween, white people seem to be very hesitant to stop the practice. A Pew Research study from earlier this year found that one-third of Americans (mostly white and Republican) still believe it is appropriate to wear blackface as a part of a Halloween costume.
Share who say it is always or sometimes acceptable to wear blackface as part of a Halloween costume:
— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) February 11, 2019
All U.S. adults: 34%
Whites: 39%
Blacks: 19%
Hispanics: 28%
Republicans: 51%
Democrats: 21%https://t.co/eA77SrRnSL pic.twitter.com/Yd5vvhxSMV
The teacher was apparently a part of that group willing to risk their reputation and livelihood in the name of racist Halloween getups.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Milpitas High School.
READ MORE:
- Florida politician resigns after photo shows him dressed as Katrina victim in blackface
- Nurse fired for wearing blackface Beyoncé costume
- Dad reshares racist Obama costume he dressed kid in, gets outed as convicted killer
- Third instance of Justin Trudeau wearing racist makeup emerges after he apologized for first 2
H/T USA TODAY
