Outrage as Idaho high school students spell N-word on their t-shirts while standing behind mixed-race girl – as parents call it a hate crime
- The now-deleted photo showed a group of students wearing shirts with racial slurs
- Dr. Troy Easterday said nothing like this had ever happened before during his tenure as superintendent
- However, parents expressed concerns about racism in the district, with some saying they were considering pulling their children out of school
A photo of a group of Idaho high school students spelling out racial slurs on their shirts has sparked anger among community members — and prompted parents to address the prevalence of racism at the school.
The photo was posted to Instagram by a Salmon High School student. It showed a mixed-race girl lying on the ground with six teenagers standing over her and letters on their shirts with a racial slur. All the students in the photo had their middle fingers pointed at the camera.
The offensive message has now been removed.
Dr. Troy Easterday, superintendent of Salmon School District 291, posted a video on Facebook on September 26 assuring parents that the case was being processed.
“I am well aware of the current situation unfolding in a social media post from our Salmon School District students,” he said.
The now-deleted Instagram photo showed a mixed-race student lying on the ground as six others stood over her and shouted a racial slur with letters on their shirts
Dr. Troy Easterday, superintendent of Salmon School District 291, posted a video on the Salmon Savages Facebook page vowing that the case was being resolved
However, parents claimed racism was a widespread problem within the district and feared students would not be properly disciplined
“At this time, our Salmon School District administrative team is investigating this post and will keep the community informed within the legal confusion of the law.”
However, his statement did little to satisfy parents who insisted that students of color were being targeted and bullied at school.
One parent told me Eastern Idaho News something she worried about every day as a mother of mixed-race children. She called the post a “hate crime.”
“I’m embarrassed and ashamed,” she said. “My husband is one of two, maybe three African-Americans in this city.”
She said she was afraid to speak out because, “I’m afraid that if I say too much it could affect my job or my small business.”
Another mother said she was considering removing her children from the school district because she feared the offending students would not be properly disciplined.
“The reason why there is hate in this community is because no one is doing anything about it. Period,” she said.
‘These children are old enough to distinguish right from wrong. Parents, do better. But you can’t blame the parents for this because some of them are 18 years old. They are adults. It’s disturbing.’
Easterday said the incident was the first of its kind and that the government has “taken all appropriate legal steps to ensure disciplinary action is taken.”
He posted a follow-up video promising that the students had been punished
Easter told KTVB that the administrative team was called in as soon as the school became aware of the post, which was made ‘not maliciously’.
He said the racist agency was the first to know about it during his tenure as superintendent.
“It has never been said to my office that a situation like this has ever occurred and that it was not taken seriously. Not while I’m here,” Easter said.
‘Our team did not hesitate to take action. We have taken all appropriate legal steps to ensure disciplinary action was taken.”
He said the district has also contacted police and board members.
At 7:40 a.m., another video was uploaded to the school’s Facebook page, showing the superintendent sitting with his arms across his desk.
“Salmon School District does not condone, or has ever condoned, what was expressed on social media today,” he said.
And simply: ‘Disciplinary action has been taken.’