Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Massachusetts School Shuts Down After Teacher Has Toddlers Wear Blackface Masks For Black History Month

Massachusetts School Shuts Down After Teacher Has Toddlers Wear Blackface Masks For Black History Month
NBC10 Boston

A daycare temporarily closed down, fired a teacher and apologized to parents after a Black History Month lesson went horribly wrong.

ICKids, a Montessori school in Newton, Massachusetts saw a lot of parent and community outrage after it was discovered a teacher had toddlers make masks of blackface.


After a parent brought the situation to light, many more complained to the school, who shut down over fears of protests.

The incident took place last week.

www.youtube.com

The pre-school teacher took the children through a project where they made blackface masks.

When one mother, Nadirah Pierce, found out, she pulled her children from the school.

She told local news NBC10 Boston:

“This is unacceptable and don't really understand the concept of this project.”

Blackface is a highly offensive practice where people of non-African descent use makeup to portray a Black person. The masks the children made were part of a lesson for Black History Month.

When Pierce initially picked up her kids, she saw they were covered in black paint. She didn’t think much of it until the school posted photos of the activity online.

Then everyone knew what the black paint was for.

The school posted an apology on their Facebook profile saying:

“To all who are offended, we sincerely apologize for what happened with one of our classroom activities: black face. Our intention was to celebrate Black History Month.”
“Unfortunately we didn’t do enough research on black history and carried out a wrong activity. We are sorry about it and we mean it!”

How could this have happened in the first place?

Many commenters were quick to point out what was posted on Facebook wasn’t an apology or accountability for what went wrong. After this, the school deleted their Facebook profile.

Soon after, the school shut down with a notice on their door explaining that the “Facebook apology was not the best statement...” They claimed they had to shut down over security concerns that may come from protesting parents.

However, the protests never happened.

Initially, the teacher who planned the activity was just reprimanded, but after continued outrage from parents, the door notice updated this situation to say they had been fired.

The school also said that if they reopen, all staff will be made to go through diversity training,

The whole situation was unsurprising to many.

While blackface seems like an archaic practice that should have gone extinct a long time ago, it continues to crop up.

Just a few months ago, a Virginia councilman shared a Halloween costume in blackface.

While the councilman removed the photos of the costume, he attempted to defend himself and showed little remorse.

More from Trending

Vivian Wilson
@vivllainous/Instagram

Elon Musk's Trans Daughter Just Made Her Drag Debut At An Anti-ICE Fundraiser—And Fans Are Obsessed

Elon Musk's disowned trans daughter Vivian Jenna Wilson has made a name for herself online for mercilessly dragging the father who once said she was "dead" to him because she was "killed by the woke mind virus."

But recently she took it to a new level, leveraging her fame in her first drag performance at a Los Angeles anti-ICE fundraiser.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Trump Administration Fast-Tracks Eliminating National Suicide Hotline's LGBTQ+ Youth Support

On Wednesday morning, news broke that the administration of MAGA Republican President Donald Trump was eliminating certain suicide and self harm resources provided through the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

The lifeline offered callers options to speak to people who specialize in meeting their needs. But the Trump administration decided this was a service that LGBTQ+ young people don't deserve.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Trump Blasted For Announcing New Additions To The White House Lawn As Global Tensions Escalate

President Donald Trump was criticized after announcing that two new flagpoles would be added to the North and South Lawns of the White House—not the greatest look amid heightened global unease as tensions between Israel and Iran ramp up.

According to the Associated Press, Trump watched as a crane installed the newest flagpole on the South Lawn, remarking, “It’s such a beautiful pole.” He later returned to the site to salute as the American flag was raised for the first time.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Donald Trump from CNN supercut
CNN

Trump Mocked For 'Two Weeks' Iran Deadline With Supercut Of All His 'Two Weeks' Promises

President Donald Trump has a history of promising to resolve problems within "two weeks," and a new viral supercut mocks him for all the times he's said as much—including right now with tensions in the Middle East higher than ever.

Trump said Thursday he will decide within two weeks whether to involve U.S. forces directly in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, citing what he called a “substantial chance” for renewed nuclear negotiations with Tehran.

Keep ReadingShow less
red flag with pole on seashore
Seoyeon Choi on Unsplash

People Break Down The 'Silent Red Flags' Folks Tend To Ignore In Relationships

A red flag has come to mean any warning sign in life, in addition to the literal red flags that are placed on beaches or industrial sites to warn people of danger.

People will respond to situations by saying, "That’s a red flag." But before that language evolved, they'd just call them "warning signs."

Keep ReadingShow less