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*A Sarasota, Florida, high school is investigating one of its white students after he asked a girl to prom using a racist sign.
A picture of the sign from 18-year-old Riverview High School student Noah Crowley was shared on the potential date’s Snapchat and then circulated on social media Sunday, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. The sign read: “If I was black I’d be picking cotton, but I’m white so I’m picking u 4 Prom?”
Even worse, the female student’s Snapchat included a caption of two heart-eye emojis, suggesting she was excited about the request.
By Monday morning, the photo had gone viral and sparked outrage. One student tweeted the image with the comment: “He seems to not know about America’s history. Racism is a problem. Definitely should not be allowed to go to the prom!!”
School district spokeswoman Tracey Beeker confirmed Monday that the sign was under investigation by the school district. She said administrators have been speaking to the student and his parents on the phone since Sunday evening.
“[The post] was racial in nature and administration became aware of it last night,” Riverview acting principal Kathy Wilks said in a robocall in a call to parents Monday morning. “Many who saw the post are understandably upset with its contents as well as the subsequent commentary to the post. Riverview High School absolutely does not condone or support the message conveyed in this post.”
She added: “We are focused on ensuring that Riverview High School provides a safe and secure environment for all of our students and that all students feel welcome and understand the value that they all bring to our school community. Our guidance counselors and administrators are available for any student who wish to speak to someone regarding the issue. Riverview High School has a wonderful student population and we know our school will use this incident as an opportunity to have productive conversations about respect for one another.”
Riverview senior Anton Kernohan, who has been involved in planning gun control protests at the school, said everyone he had talked with at the school was “disgusted” with the sign.
“But I think it is actually important that this issue occurred on some level,” he said Monday. “It shows that racism is still alive and well in our society, and it shows that racism is still alive in my generation and it is something that we as the youth will have to continue to fight against.”
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