A high school senior at Clear Fork High School in Ohio is banned from attending prom after his racist promposal.
What We Know:
- A photo of an unnamed student was posted on Facebook showing him holding a promposal poster with a racist message. The poster read “If I was black I’d be picking cotton but I’m white so I’m picking u for prom.” After the widespread backlash, the post has been taking down from Facebook.
- Clear Fork Valley Local Schools Superintendent, Janice Wyckoff has spoken out about the situation. Wyckoff states that the student has apologized over social media.
“I’m sorry for upsetting anyone, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m really sorry, I will say sorry to anyone. I didn’t mean to hurt you or anything like that, it was just for a laugh. I’m sorry, I really am. I’ll say it to your face or anything really.”
- Since the photo has surfaced, the student has begun to receive some death threats.
- This is not the first instance of a racist promposal. In April 2018, a student named Noah Crowley had a sign with the exact same phrase. Crowley was a student at Riverview High School in Sarasota, Florida. Crowley, his parent’s and their attorney all made an apology and the student was unable to attend prom or graduation.
- Wyckoff states that she is not sure if the student had seen the news report from last year regarding the Florida incident. She does feel that this situation is a good opportunity to teach their students about race in America.
- Racists promposals seem to be becoming a trend. In April 2019, a sign stating “Do you want to be like a nigger and hang at prom?” surfaced on social media from a student at James A. Garfield High School in East Los Angeles. Other racists prom signs were seen at Issaquah High School as well as in Arizona and Texas.
The student will remain unnamed and his face has been cut from the remaining photos. His parents have decided to not make a statement on the matter.
