‘RACISM’ UPROAR
Vid of white kids at posh school in blackface
white students in blackface jumped and gibbered like monkeys in an allegedly racist video that stunned classmates and parents at an elite Brooklyn private school, the Daily News has learned.
The repugnant production made the rounds last week at the world-famous Poly Prep Country Day School in Dyker Heights, where no disciplinary action was taken against the participants, according to irate members of the school community.
“It was hurtful,” said senior Jeovanna de-Shong-Connor, 17, who is black and the co-president of a students of color group called Umoja.
“It was just one more in a string of events that made it so clear that our peers were not welcoming and that the administration did not care.”
In a video clip provided to The News, the two white female students are seen laughing as they jump like primates and mug for the camera with their faces painted black. A third white female student recorded the apelike antics.
A parent of one of the girls insisted the pair were not being racist and were not in blackface but only wearing dark makeup; the video was recorded two years ago during a sleepover when the girls were 12 years old, and another student edited and circulated the clip without their knowledge or approval.
A second girl’s parent said her daughter was silenced by school officials despite the family’s request to let her explain the circumstances and offer an apology.
One of the girls in blackface transferred out last September, while the other two students involved are still attending Poly Prep classes.
Parents and students were outraged by the video and the school’s response, including an email sent to families about the clip that made no mention of its allegedly racist content.
Alumni at the posh private school — where the tuition exceeds $50,000 a year — include former Knicks center Joakim Noah and the son of Rock Hall of Famer Jon Bon Jovi.
On Friday, many students joined in a walkout from a schoolwide assembly honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in a protest organized by Jeovanna and Umoja.
Hours later, Poly Prep’s head of school sent a letter home to families vowing to address the situation in an upcoming meeting with students of color.
Jeovanna and Umoja published an open letter to the school community along with a list of demands for Poly Prep administrators in the school newspaper on Friday.
“On Jan. 11, 2019, members of our community were exposed to a video in which white female students were seen making monkey gestures and noises while wearing blackface,” the letter read. “It is a racist video and we are offended. This is not an isolated incident.”
Jeovanna and Umoja requested a public apology from the girls in the video, the hiring of more faculty of color and the creation of civics courses to promote cultural awareness.
Some parents and students said Poly Prep, founded as an all-male, all-white enclave in 1854, is characterized by deep institutional racism.
The school began its tranTwo sition to a coed, multiethnic school starting in the 1970s, but students and parents charge racism remains part of the culture.
Among other things, they cited the school’s initial responses to the video and reports that the students involved in its creation were not subject to disciplinary action.
“If you smoke a Juul at school you can get kicked out, but you can create a racist video and not get kicked out,” said the father of a black Poly Prep student, speaking anonymously to avoid any backlash.
“A lot of black parents are saying they wish they never sent their kid there, because of serious institutional racism in college admissions and in discipline,” he added.
Parents for both the girls involved were equally upset with the school’s handling of the situation.
“We are extremely angry with the school for failing to tell their own student body the truth — that these girls were actually not in blackface and that this has been taken out of context,” said one of the parents.
Poly Prep Head of School Audrius Barzdukas seemed to acknowledge shortcomings in a Friday letter sent to parents.
He described the scene of Umoja members reading their letter at a school assembly.
“Our chapel was silent as they described a recently posted ‘video in which white female students were seen making monkey gestures and noises while wearing blackface,’ ” Barzdukas wrote.
“Some students and faculty shed tears,” he continued.
“The letter described an atmosphere of racial intolerance and prejudice, and admonished the school’s administration for not doing enough to prevent or respond to this atmosphere.”
Barzdukas promised to meet this Wednesday with students from Umoja to discuss what comes next.
“We will not tolerate racism in our school. We will foster a culture where we seek to understand one another and to bridge cultures,” he wrote in the letter, adding: “I promise that we will do everything possible to make positive change going forward, and I invite you all to hold us accountable.”