Student's Racist 'Promposal' On Social Media Prompts Protest

SARASOTA, FL -- He's made a public apology. He's agreed his social media post was in poor taste.

However, Sarasota School District officials say they may take further disciplinary actions against a Riverview High School student who posted a photo of himself on a social media site holding a sign in which he asks his girlfriend to the prom on May 5 using a reference to a racist stereotype.

The sign read: “If I was black, I’d be picking cotton, but I’m white, so I’m picking u 4 prom."

Senior Noah Crowley, 18, posted the photo Sunday night. Immediately, the post caused an outcry among fellow students who felt it was racist. Within hours, school administrators were on the phone with Crowley and his parents discussing the post's offensiveness.

Acting Principal Kathy Wilks followed up by sending a robocall to Riverview High parents Monday morning.

“We want to make everyone aware of a student’s social media post that has caused a very concerning situation. It involves one of our seniors and his ‘promposal’ to another student.

“It was racial in nature and administration became aware of it last night. Many who saw the post are understandably upset with its contents as well as the subsequent commentary to the post. Riverview High School absolutely does not condone or support the message conveyed in this post.”

By that time, Crowley's post had already elicited hundreds of comments including one from senior Anton Kernohan, who is black.

“It shows that racism is still alive and well in our society, and it shows that racism is still alive in my generation and it is something that we as the youth will have to continue to fight against," Kernohan said in a media interview.

Crowley promptly posted an apology on social media, saying his post was intended to be a joke.

"After reading the texts and Snapchats, I truly see how I have offended people and I’m sorry," Crowley said. "Anyone who knows me ... knows that that's not how we truly feel. It was a joke and it went too far."

However, his apology didn't satisfy Kernohan and other black students at the school who say there's nothing funny about racism.

Trevor Harvey, president of the Sarasota chapter of the NAACP, agrees. He is encouraging the school district to issue "a strong statement" condemning Crowley's behavior.

“A strong statement needs to be made to their student body that this type of behavior will not be tolerated on any of our campuses throughout the school district, and, if so, there are going to be severe consequences,” Harvey said in a media interview. He suggested that the county's schools might benefit from anti-bias training.

“We are hoping the district takes our recommendation and brings groups in like us to help facilitate and have these open dialogues on how these kinds of things impact everybody,” Harvey said. “It impacts everybody, not just blacks and Hispanics and Asians. It impacts all, and we need to sit down and deal with it.”

Wilks said she is offering any student who wants to discuss his or her feelings about the incident an opportunity to speak with a school guidance counselor.

“We are focused on ensuring that Riverview High School provides a safe and secure environment for all of our students and that all students feel welcome and understand the value that they all bring to our school community," she said.

School district spokeswoman Tracey Beeker said the district hasn't decided what disciplinary action will be taken against Crowley but said the district is open to the idea of “creating a conversation about racial relations.”

“Although this message is one student’s opinion, we take the matter of racial relations and school safety seriously, and we look forward to working with our students and these outside groups to have a meaningful and informative dialogue and expanded curriculum related to this important national topic,” said the school district in a statement issued Monday.

Image via SnapChat