FAYETTE COUNTY, Ga. — A metro Atlanta school district says a special action team will look at their policies after a group of people showed up to a sporting event in blackface.
Channel 2’s Audrey Washington spoke with a parent and NAACP leader on Tuesday about the next steps being taken.
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“It’s just an ongoing race issue at that school,” said one parent, who asked us not to share her name in fear of retaliation against her child. “I do believe that incident was malicious in intent.”
The parent says the image of people posing in blackface scarred her child and other Black students at Whitewater High School.
Channel 2 Action News at 6:00 p.m. reported back in September when a small group, including one non-Whitewater High School student, showed up to a volleyball game in blackface.
The event, billed as a blackout for the home team, encouraged fans to wear black, but not black paint on their arms, legs and face.
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This week, the Fayette County superintendent and Whitewater principal released a joint statement to parents.
“Following an incident at a Whitewater High School athletic event in September that did not reflect the values of our school system, we reiterated our commitment to learning from that experience and taking steps to strengthen understanding and respect across our schools.”
Looking ahead, a Cross Functional Action Team (XFAT) will be established during the second semester. This group will review current practices and recommend further steps to reinforce our shared expectations for dignity and respect at all Fayette County schools and events.”
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Kevin Pratt II, president of NAACP Fayette County, worked with the superintendent on the plan moving forward, calling it a “cultural issue.”
“We’ve been asking to make changes to the code of conduct,” Pratt told Washington.
“The ones who didn’t go to the school, they’re banned from all Fayette County Board of Education events and they can’t even go to the graduation,” he added.
What do some parents want next?
“I would like to see more diversity in leadership at the school as well as with the teachers because we really don’t have a good representation of ourselves up there.”
Not all of the people in the photo have been identified. The NAACP will review video of the incident.
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