Racism In School: African-American Student's Comedy Skit Turned Into Racist Meme

An African-American student’s participation in a comedy skit in Chandler High School, Oklahoma, was turned into a racist meme, which caused the school officials to issue an apology to the teen’s family.

The teen was dressed in a prisoner’s costume when another student clicked his picture, added the words “N----r for auction in Chandler Oklahoma. Starting bid $50,” an image of a confederate flag and released it on Snapchat, the New York Post reported.

When the student’s elder sister, Ashley Dawn Warner came across the meme, she said she was outraged. “My blood is absolutely boiling,” wrote Warner in a lengthy Facebook post on Wednesday. “This is my little brother pictured in this screenshot.”

Warner said the scene played by her brother was taken out of context and used in hateful speech. He was taking part in the “Positive Peers” assembly, which was meant to promote school unity.

“My brother is dressed up for Positive Peers as they are putting on a production for the school called Teen Forum,” Warner explained. “He was being taken to jail in this scene and this is what another student posted. This is just ridiculous! I know bullying happens, I was bullied all throughout school, but it seems to happen a lot more in Chandler Schools then it should…I’m not sure if this is a result of piss poor parenting or if the school needs to do something regarding bullying or both; but this kinda crap isn’t acceptable.”

She added that she was disgusted by the thought that even in 2018 people let children address other children by such derogatory terms. The school district issued an apology to the teen’s family for the incident

The following statement was issued by the school district:

“Chandler Public Schools experienced a deeply disturbing incident on Wednesday. A student Snapchatted a picture of another student, who was acting out a role designed specifically for educating students regarding the importance of positive peer relationships. The student also included with the picture highlight alarming language that was hateful and demeaning. This behavior is not repetitive of Chandler Public Schools, its staff members or its students. The District has no tolerance for hateful depictions and captions regarding any student and has and will continue to address this unacceptable, despicable behavior whenever it occurs. In addition, districts officials will lean in with an even greater emphasis on educating students regarding no tolerance for actions or words that threaten, harass or bully others because of color. Our deepest apologies are extended to the student who was the victim of this shameful behavior by another student. We will do our utmost to support this student and the student’s family in standing against actions and speech that hurts and belittles other individuals.”

The individual responsible for the meme was reported by his peers and later suspended for his actions. Details about the district’s disciplinary action toward the student responsible were not released.