The day after a sophmore student at Christ Church Episcopal School in northern South Carolina was expelled for posting racist photos of four black students, the senior class greeted the student body with a giant banner they created to offset the divisive message that had been sent by the photos. The photos posted to Snapshot show four male black students from the school that the expelled student had doctored with swastikas and nooses around the boys' necks. The giant banner that greeted the student body read “We are Family Cavalier Strong," in the school colors. In the bottom right corner, the banner is signed: “With love, Class of 2015.” The seniors had stayed up all night creating the banner to try and counter the other student's racist message/photos.
From The New Civil Rights Movement:
“The principal reasons for dismissing the student were to uphold the principles of decency and respect, and secondarily to respond to behavior that tarnishes the school’s reputation,” said Leonard Kupersmith, Christ Church headmaster.
As the news rippled through the student body, a consensus began to form - they needed to do something to disavow the racist photos - something to show the black students and community at large that the sophomore spoke only for himself.
"Our school, as a community, is going through a difficult time right now,” said Valerie Pruc, Christ Church student body president. “We need to remind everyone in our community and outside of our community that we are united and that we really respect diversity and everyone within our school.”
So the seniors of Christ Church stayed up all night creating the banner.
“That symbolizes that we’re all united as one,” Valerie Pruc explained. “Being a Cavalier brings us all together. It doesn’t matter what race, what age, what background you come from. I think that being at Christ Church is a very special thing that we all share, a common bond.”
And,
from Myrtle Beach Online:
Seniors took a photo Thursday morning that they hope will become the lasting image of a tough week at the private Greenville school. It shows three female students of different races standing hand-in-hand looking at the banner they had just hung above the school entrance.
“That symbolizes that we’re all united as one,” Pruc said. “Being a Cavalier brings us all together. It doesn’t matter what race, what age, what background you come from. I think that being at Christ Church is a very special thing that we all share, a common bond.”
In an email to the school community, Kupersmith called the altered photo a “vile” and “repugnant act” that was contradictory to what the school stands for. Christ Church “respects racial, religious, and ethnic diversity,” he wrote. “We are a close-knit, faith-based and caring community.”
School leaders will spend the summer crafting a plan for the next school year to promote education about all types of diversity, Kupersmith said.
“It’s a fallacy to assume that adolescents have a broad cultural awareness,” he said.
Well, the student got that imagery somewhere ... most likely the parents. Nevertheless, kudos to the senior class for their efforts to rectify the situation.