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School Officials Look Into Serra High Blackface Incident

Two of the men with their faces painted black and dressed as the Jamaican bobsled team from the 1993 movie "Cool Runnings" are allegedly teachers are Junipero Serra High School.
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Two of the men with their faces painted black and dressed as the Jamaican bobsled team from the 1993 movie "Cool Runnings" are allegedly teachers are Junipero Serra High School.
School Officials Look Into Serra High Blackface Incident
Reaction from Serra High Blackface Incident
GUESTS:Lei-Chala Wison, President, NAACP, San Diego Branch Wendy Patrick, SDSU Ethics Expert

A photo that surfaced on Facebook last weekend shows two men with their faces painted black and dressed as the Jamaican bobsled team from the 1993 movie "Cool Runnings."

School Officials Look Into Serra High Blackface Incident
Two San Diego Unified high school teachers will be investigated for allegedly wearing controversial Halloween costumes.

The two are allegedly Junipero Serra High School varsity football coaches.

The teachers were reportedly at a non-school event when the photo was taken, but the incident is causing a furor.

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San Diego Unified School Board of Education president John Lee Evans said the incident will be investigated. He said teachers are held to a very high standard of conduct both inside the classroom and out.

"Our staff are members of the community, they’re highly respected members of the community and we have a very high expectation of them," said Evans.

NAACP San Diego is calling on San Diego Unified School Superintendent Cindy Marten to fire the coaches.

"We see no humor in 'blackface.' We are confounded why these coaches would be comfortable wearing 'blackface' out in public. It is still not appropriate, acceptable or humorous, notwithstanding the upcoming Halloween occasion," said NAACP president Lei-Chala Wilson in a released statement.

Corrected: October 7, 2024 at 8:33 PM PDT
KPBS' Maureen Cavanaugh, Patty Lane and Peggy Pico contributed to the Midday and Evening Edition segment.