A Michigan high school has apologized for a racial classroom assignment that went viral on Facebook last Thursday which portrayed an image of a student dressed in Ku Klux Klan attire.
The photo was reportedly uploaded as a joke to Snapchat with the caption “welcome to niles high school,” but it later went viral on Facebook.
According to Raw Story, administrators at Niles High School, which is in Niles, Michigan, said the student dressed in KKK apparel as part of a history lesson, enacted through a skit, that explored race-related topics. The school’s webpage expresses the pride it has in in its diverse student population in order to provide opportunities for all students to succeed in their comprehensive academic programs.
School officials released a public statement about the incident on Friday.
“Niles Community Schools and Niles High School understands the extreme sensitivity around this issue and does not condone or support this type of reenactment. We sincerely apologize to our entire community for this incident.”
To make classroom learning more exciting and tangible for students, their in-class skit included props and costumes that were trendy during specific decades, according to Raw Story.
“Everybody’s not gonna see it that way,” Mount Calvary Baptist Church Pastor Bryant Bacon countered. “They’re not gonna see it as a classroom project. They’re gonna see it as something that’s racial and sensitive.
“If we’re going to address these issues, then the teachers need to be trained a little bit better in how they address these issues so it does not create any kind of tension,” he added.
The teacher who assigned the skit told WBND that he was upset at the attention the class project was receiving.
An investigation into who authorized the assignment is underway.
