Just when we thought maybe, in 2017, we’d finally have an unproblematic Halloween, some private school white kids prove us wrong.
As The Daily Mail reported ne white student from Boy’s Latin School of Maryland was photographed on Snapchat dressed in an orange jumpsuit with the name “Freddie Gray” on the back. Gray, to clarify, was a black man who died in police custody which led to protests in Baltimore back in 2015 over police brutality and the circumstances of his death.
Another Snapchat moment saw two white kids from Gilman School and Roland Park Country School dressed in orange jumpsuits with the caption “n****s broke out.” That picture was taken by a student from Mount Saint Joseph High School.
Didn’t we just see students on their way to Harvard get their acceptance revoked for being racist only a few months ago? Another picture shows a kid from St. Paul’s School, shirtless, with swastikas, the n-word, and pornographic drawings on his back.
The College of Charleston in South Carolina, where the “Freddie Gray” photo was taken, is investigating the situation and “will take action if rules were broken.”
College President, Glenn McConnell, said in a campus-wide letter, “Our education and our campus community are about lifting each other up, not tearing each other down. Racism and intolerance of any kind have no place on our campus - and in our world.”
Gilman School and Roland Park Country School put out a joint statement.
“Know that we take any situation involving our students seriously, and this is no exception. Please understand that many involved in this situation are minors and we respectfully remind you of this as we work through the details.”
The student claiming to have taken the “n****s broke out” photo went to Twitter to apologize and say that the caption was a line in an Ice-T song that was playing when they took the picture.
“Obviously, this sort of behavior cannot be tolerated, and we share in the hurt and dismay this action may have caused," Mount Saint Joseph High School’s President, George E Andrews Jr, said in a statement. "We take all matters involving students seriously, and will determine how best to address the matter internally after further investigation.”
St. Paul’s school also said in a statement that “The School is investigating an incident that occurred off campus and outside of school hours, and will take the necessary and appropriate steps. Privacy policies do not permit us to provide any further information. We remain committed to fostering an inclusive community whose members respect themselves and one another.”