‘Tasteless And Hurtful’ Signs At Ohio High School Spark Outrage, ‘It’s Racism Swept Under The Rug’
Parents at an Ohio high school are sharing their outrage after signs that said “blacks only” and “whites only” were put up over water fountains earlier this month.
The signs were put up at Colerain High School on May 5, and a statement from the district concluded that the students put the signs up, took pictures, then removed them, but still posted them on social media. Parents were informed of the incident through a letter that same day.
“Upon investigation of the matter, we have learned that the notes posted over the water fountains were posted for a matter of 30 seconds before being removed by the students,” the statement from the district said.
They also assured that students who were involved in the incident did face disciplinary actions.
“Those who participated in this tasteless and hurtful act have been issued significant disciplinary actions,” the district maintained.
However, parents don’t believe it is enough, telling local news station WXIX that by not highlighting the incident the school, which has a 30% black student population, was letting racist actions be pushed aside.
“It’s a hate crime. It's racism swept under the rug,” one parent told the news outlet.
“These water fountains were labeled ‘blacks only,’ ‘whites only,’ which pushed us back so many generations,” another added. “My heart dropped. My heart dropped. I couldn’t believe it. It was so offensive.”
The district has not commented on the outrage from parents, though their initial letter also assured that the incident was not reflective of district values.
“The actions that were displayed do NOT reflect the values and the culture we’ve worked so hard to cultivate in all of our schools across the district. NWLSD stands firm in creating a culture of inclusivity, respect, kindness and compassion for everyone. As a school community it’s our responsibility to uphold these values and we will not tolerate any action from anyone that compromises or disrupts that culture,” the statement read.
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