White high school students wear 'N16GA WE MADE IT' T-shirts

Just because it's a Drake lyric, doesn't mean it's okay.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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A photo of two white Virginia high school students wearing t-shirts bearing the n-word was widely shared on Twitter on Thursday, sparking outrage and prompting debate over the use of the term in pop culture.

The photo shows two blonde girls with their backs to the camera, wearing shirts that say "N16GA We Made It," substituting two letters in the racial slur with their class year. The phrase is from the chorus of Drake's "We Made It."  

The girls are students at Mountain View High School in Stafford, Virginia, The New York Daily News reports. After Daily News reporter Shaun King tweeted the photo, Twitter users debated whether using the term while quoting pop lyrics is acceptable.

@ShaunKing popular drake song, whites are #1 consumers of rap music, you reaching. They spelled it ga, not ger! Is it wrong, yes. Usa 2015
@loltanisha @TheRealStevieJ I do not think these shirts are ok. But do rappers never expect a white fan to repeat their lyrics???
@Rebeksy @TheRealStevieJ Yes I wish rappers would take the word out of their song but they lived an experience these girls in the pic don't
@xoNayy_xo @ShaunKing @deray of course, I graduated from here, lots of white kids in this area don't understand the gravity of the word

A representative from Stafford County Public Schools confirmed to NTRSCTN that the two girls in the photo are Mountain View High School students, though she had no other information about the identity of the students or the context of the photo.

A statement sent to NTRSCTN from the school district addressed the use of the racial slur on the shirts.

Stafford County Public Schools does not condone or approve of the type of language implied in the photograph of students from Mountain View High School. This incident has been investigated and appropriate actions have been taken.

Along with a request for "community members who have posted or shared this insensitive picture on any social media platform to please remove it," the statement also included a note from Mountain View High School's principal, Dr. James Stemple, on how the school intends to address the matter.

As principal of the school I am truly sorry that this incident occurred at Mountain View. There are plans in place to educate the entire student body about this type of behavior, provide counseling if needed for any student, and to work with the entire community to ensure this type of action does not happen again.

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