A TikToker appalled by a clip of teenage girls mocking Black History Month had an urgent message for parents.
The disturbing video showed a teenage student from a Catholic high school in Philadelphia spraying black spray paint on her friend's face and eliciting laughter from their friends in the room.
The girl with the can of spray paint made racist remarks like:
"You're a Black girl now. Know your roots."
"You're nothing but a slave."
After being sprayed in the face repeatedly, the blackfaced girl exclaimed:
"I'm Black and I'm proud!"
TikToker @tizzyent stitched the viral clip to his video message and wrote in the caption:
"If you don't teach your kids that it's wrong, the world will do it for you."
The juveniles in the racially-charged video allegedly posted the clip to Snapchat and also sent it to Black students at the school accompanied with images of the girl who wound up in blackface with the overlaying text "Celebrate Black History Month."
WARNING: racism
@tizzyent If you don't teach your kids that it's wrong, the world will do it for you,
According to the Shaderoom, the girls in the racist video except for one were from Saint Hubert Catholic High School for girls–which is part of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's Office for Catholic Education.
When the clip went viral, outraged members of the community gathered in front of the school in Holmesburg to prompt action.
Protestors held signs that read, “condemn and confront white supremacy,” “where is your humanity” and “prejudice creates pain.”
TizzyEnt commented on an all-too-familiar scenario of people committing racist acts and making excuses after being widely condemned for their offensive indiscretions.
"They're gonna be the people who say oh they made a mistake and one bad decision and all that stuff."
"But time and time again with situations like this we end up finding out this isn't the one mistake, this isn't a one time thing."
The TikToker mentioned that the comments in the original thread for the clip indicated fellow students witnessed the girls repeatedly using the n-word toward Black students at the school and the school had not taken action.
TizzyEnt said the lack of any consequences only encourages racist behavior which leads to the students feeling entitled and thinking what they did was okay.
When one of the girls in the clip said their mom was texting, it caused TizzyEnd to wonder if the parent was cognizant of what her daughter was up to.
"This is why I say parents have conversations with children to teach them that stuff like this is wrong," said the TikToker.
He added:
"A bunch of people are about to contact those girls' schools and demand action be taken."
"Those girls will likely be haunted and followed by this for years to come."
Social media users added to the conversation in response to TizzyEnt's call to action against racism.
Adam McNeil, who organized the protest in front of the school, said he thought the video was the result of "complete ignorance."
"I watched and I was completely confused that we still have so much blatant racism in 2023."
"And then to know that the students not only made this video in mockery of Black people in Black History Month but they took the time to send it to their fellow students, which to me was the straw that broke the camel's back."
McNeil added:
"We have to stand together as a community to show that racism is not acceptable in any place, whether it's in school, whether it's in work."
"But to know that our children are displaying this racism only has me question, who are their parents?"
"What do their parents teach them, what is the resolution going to be behind this tragedy?"
Following the incident, the Franklin Towne Charter Schools released a statement, saying:
"The Franklin Towne Community is both saddened and appalled by the events surrounding the racist video that has been on social media."
"We want to again take this opportunity to condemn this type of hateful behavior and condemn anyone involved in it."
"Franklin Towne is a school that values inclusion and will not tolerate hate in any manner."
"The former student who took part in this video, and any other students who may choose to participate in this type of behavior have no place at our school."
"The content of this video does not reflect the values and culture of our Towne family."
Saint Hubert's President and Principal issued a statement, saying in part:
"We view racism as a mortal sin. There is no place for it in our hearts and minds and there is no tolerance for such behavior at Saint Hubert's."
The statement, however, did not detail the nature of the disciplinary actions planned for the participants in the video.
McNeil wants to ensure there are consequences for what he identified as a "hate crime."
He said:
"We want them to know what accountability is, and what accountability looks like, and what trauma looks like when it is set upon somebody else that did nothing to you."
"We want them charged. This is a hate crime. This is ethnic intimidation."
McNeil added:
"There's many young students that go to this school that are Black and Brown."
"How do you think that they feel everyday now walking into school knowing that their classmates are racist?"
"And if the school does not dismiss these students immediately, it just shows their lack of value for their own Black students that they have here, and that is unacceptable."
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia did mention in a separate statement that the individuals involved "will be disciplined appropriately" in accordance with the school handbook.
A report was filed after "reactionary general threats" were made against the safety of the St. Hubert's school community as a result of the video.
The Archdiocese's statement continued in part:
"Based on advice from the PPD, there will be no extracurricular activities on campus for the remainder of the week."
"Out of an abundance of caution and for the welfare of the school community, it will operate on a Flexible Instruction Day schedule for the remainder of the week."
Black History Month is observed annually in the U.S. and Canada during the month of February.
It is believed the month was chosen to honor and celebrate Black history and culture in America as it coincided with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln–who was born on February 12, and of Frederick Douglass–who was born on February 14.
Both figures have been embraced by the Black community for their respective achievements and contributions to society since the 19th century.
