ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4) — A father of a Pine View High School student is raising concerns after two people who painted their faces black for a high school football game were allegedly awarded the school spirit prize.
Edward Wright, whose daughter attends Pine View High School, told ABC4 that two people wearing blackface at a St. George football game were celebrated for their school spirit.
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“Instead of there being consequences and education given at the moment about how wrong it was, it was celebrated. These young men won the prize for being the most spirited in the crowd,” Wright said.
He continued to say the two males took a photo with the cheerleaders which was later put on the high school’s website. It has been taken off the site since.
“This is not the first time this is happened in the school district. It is just the first time it’s been so blatant that it can’t be ignored,” he said.
ABC4 reached out to Washington County School District for comment but has not heard back.
Many commenters on Wright’s Facebook post claimed it was a “blackout” themed football event, and pointed out the school’s mascot is a black panther. The commenters wrote that this was an instance of school spirit rather than outright racism.
Wright, however, said his daughter — who is a student at the high school — was “really hurt by what happened” and claims there is more to the incident than merely school spirit.
Jeanetta Williams, the former president and a current representative of the Salt Lake Branch of the NAACP, said blackface is offensive in part because of its history dating back to “the minstrel shows of the mid-19th century,” where white people would paint their faces black to mock enslaved Black people.
“In past history, the purpose of blackface was mocking … turning into a figment of the white imagination for entertainment. Blackface invokes a racist and painful history, dehumanizing Black people,” her statement read in part.
The NAACP statement called out the high school’s cheer coach — who allegedly took the photos of the students with the cheerleaders — as well as the district’s superintendent, asking that the district use the incident as a learning experience.
“This is a time for education to the entire school and the cheer coach. We, the NAACP ask that Superintendent Richard Holmes use this egregious act to educate his district about racism and blackface,” Williams wrote. “Discrimination should never be tolerated.”
Wright is hoping there is a measure of accountability for what took place, even if it stemmed from a lack of understanding as others have claimed.
“I refuse to believe that this is just ignorance,” he said. “Even if it is ignorance, ignorance has consequences,” he said.
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