A freshman at a high school in Wilmington, California had to dress up as a historical figure for a history project. The student decided on former Ku Klux Klan leader Hiram Wesley Evans, and showed up to school in the white hooded costume. The worst part? The student's teacher approved of the choice.
Both the student and the teacher remain unidentified, as The Root reports. However, the choice is especially shocking considering that the school, Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy, is 96 percent minority.
“It kind of rattled me. It was hard to believe that [the teacher] would allow a Klansman to walk around from her approval,” one rising senior, Trinity Young, told ABC7. “So, we asked her, and she ... compared the Klan to the Black Panther Party, which in my opinion are two different things.”
“I’m honestly questioning why she would think it was OK. I mean, sure, he was a historical figure, but is that really a historical figure you want roaming around the school?” rising senior Eliza Dumag said. “It’s not right. It made me feel like unsafe and threatened.”
The Los Angeles Unified School District has released a statement, which reads in part: "L.A. Unified and Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy understand the extreme sensitivity around this issue and do not condone or support this type of re-enactment."
In addition, a district spokeswoman with the Los Angeles Unified School District confirmed that the incident is being investigated and described the costume as “insensitive and highly inappropriate.”
