'Racial Prank' Cancels Evergreen Park High School's Musical

EVERGREEN PARK, IL -- Evergreen Park Community High School’s spring musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat” was abruptly postponed before opening night on Friday, after a Snapchat photo surfaced showing white student cast members allegedly engaged in a racial prank. The high school had touted that the show would go on despite classes being canceled due to a snowstorm that hit the Chicago region over the weekend. Dist. 231 Superintendent Tom O’Malley informed parents and students that the musical was being postponed moments before Friday’s sold-out performance was scheduled to begin.

“[A] situation related to our musical has occurred we want to assure you that Administration is taking this very seriously. The proper discipline will occur upon conclusion of the investigation. These types of actions will not be tolerated at EPCHS …”

The photo, which has been circulating social media throughout the weekend, shows five white students in costume each holding a letter spelling out a racial slur. It’s not clear when the photo was taken or who took it. According to a parent, the picture may have been directed toward another male cast member, said to be the only African-American student to be cast in the show “because the show needed a slave.”

"Apparently, Evergreen Park HS students think it’s an acceptable “JOKE” to align up their outfits from Joseph the Technicolor Dream Coat Play to spell out “NIGAZ.” [Perfect] timing to harass an black student (who remains nameless) who was part of the play and was told they only needed him to play the slave ... Can someone say white privilege?

Another parent said it was a shame to have the performances canceled after students worked so hard on the musical and to “have it all slip away because of a stupid picture …”

According to the Illinois State Board of Education school report card, EPCHS had 855 students enrolled at the school during the 2016-2017 school year. About 32.6 percent of the student body is African American. The rest of the school's ethnic makeup is 47 percent white, 16.2 percent Hispanic and 1.2 percent Asian.

O’Malley issued a written statement via email:

“We are aware of this occurrence and it is being thoroughly investigated. We have a very diverse and caring student body and there is no room in our school for disrespect towards any students. These types of actions will not be tolerated in Evergreen Park Community High School.

“We will have no further comment until our investigation is complete.”

Cover photo: Banner of the EPCHS home page announcing the cancellation of performances of the school's musical.