A school spirit event at Pine View High School in southern Utah turned controversial on when two white students arrived in blackface during a “blackout” football game.
The August 23 event, during which students were encouraged to wear all black to show school spirit, took a troubling turn when two students painted their faces black and were later awarded a prize for school spirit, according to local CBS affiliate KUTV.
Photos of the students posing with the cheerleading squad, with one student’s face entirely covered in black paint and the other’s face painted except for the mouth and chin, were shared on social media, sparking outrage among parents and some in the school community. Many were dismayed that no school administrator or faculty member addressed the students’ appearance during the event.
Edward Wright, the father of a Black student at the school, reposted photos that drew a range of reactions online. While some agreed the appearances were inappropriate, others suggested that the students’ actions were not racially motivated but still highlighted the need for education on the issue.
“This is unacceptable, and I hope the school and district resolve this ASAP,” one commenter wrote. Another noted, “The theme for the night was ‘blackout.’ It was two dumb kids who took it too far. I don’t believe there was any racial intent. Some education needs to be done on this,” according to KUTV.
Wright stressed the importance of addressing such incidents immediately, saying, “You do it in the moment the issue arises. You don’t wait. I feel like this was a missed opportunity to educate… You could have tapped these young men on the shoulder, whispered in their ear, and let these young men know the significance of this.”
Wright also highlighted broader issues, recalling how some of his other children have faced racial slurs in the district. “We’re parents, and it’s our responsibility to instill in our kids what we want them to know, not the world… You can’t fault young kids for coming to school and saying what they hear in their home. Parents also have to do better,” he remarked.
Steven Dunham, a Washington County School District official, agreed that staff should have intervened, stating, “This is where we as a district need to step in and say we came up short. Somebody should have stepped in. We are confident there were other faculty members there at that game, and it would have been nice if somebody had stepped in.”
He said they are investigating why no faculty member intervened at the game, why the photo was taken, and why it was authorized to be posted on a school-affiliated social media account, and that they will do whatever they can to prevent something like this from happening in the future.
“Whenever an instance like this comes up, it immediately shows us where we are weak and where we can do better,” Dunham said. “We are going to step in and try to reinforce some things with all of our full-time educators, all of our part-time educators, and all of our staff, so we can feel like we’ve done the very best we can,” said Dunham.
