*Two white folks who are said to be advocates for “diversity and inclusion” falsely accused the Scottsdale Unified School District’s Hopi Elementary PTA of hiring a DJ to perform in blackface at a charity event.
As it turned out, the DJ named Kim Koko Hunter, 56, was actually a Black man, Black Enterprise reports.
Per the outlet, Stuart Rhoden and Jill Lassen saw a photo online of Hunter with three white men at the ’70s-themed party and assumed the DJ was donning blackface.
Lassen fired off an angry email to the PTA accusing them of hiring a DJ in blackface.
“The DJ that the Hopi PTA hire[d] was, in fact a Black man,” Hopi PTA president Megan Livengood wrote in response, according to the report. “It is insulting that you feel myself or PTA condone racist behavior or encourage it by posting on social media.”
But this simple response was not good enough as Rhoden, an instructor and member of Scottsdale Unified’s Equity and Inclusion Committee and the Scottsdale Human Relations Commission, then insinuated that Hunter had darkened his skin for the gig.
“Let me be clear, a Black man, apparently in Black face is an entirely different discussion than a white person,” Rhoden wrote. “However, I did not state that the person was White. It was assumed that was my intent, and perhaps it was, but nonetheless, looking on his FB page (photos below), it seems at the very least he is in darker make-up if not “Black face” or I am completely mistaken and it’s the lighting of the patio.”
Once it was confirmed that the DJ was not spinning records in blackface, Lassen, a co-chair for the Scottsdale Parent Council (SPC) DEI Committee, apologized for the bold allegations.
Hunter also addressed the controversy on Facebook Live, saying… “Was I not Black enough? How Black do I got to be for people to know that I’m an actual Black person.”
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