'White' And 'Colored' Signs Above School Fountain Cause Firestorm

FRANKLIN, WI — The subject of a photo taken inside Franklin High School this week is causing outrage with parents, local officials and in the greater community.

The photo showed two signs posted near a school water fountain: one that read "white" and the other "colored." The "white" sign was above the fountain, and the "colored" sign was above an empty space right next to the fountain.

According to the Milwaukee Independent, Jacob Romanski, a Franklin High School junior posted the photo to social media after he saw the signs. He took them down right away. "I was kind of sad, mad, angry," Romanski said. "It's unacceptable," he said to FOX 6.

According to a Journal Sentinel report this week, the Franklin School District called the incident an "act of intolerance" after a photo of the scene was discovered on Facebook. "The display was offensive, hurtful and wrong. As a school community, we have a responsibility to treat one another with kindness, respect, empathy and compassion," the district's statement in reaction to the incident read in part.

The Journal Sentinel is also reporting that the NAACP Milwaukee Branch, League of United Latin American Citizens of Wisconsin and the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation issued a joint statement.

Leaders Igniting Transition, a nonprofit coalition of youth in Milwaukee working to change the life trajectory for youth and young adults of color in Milwaukee, posted the photo online, calling for community members to call the district to demand changes.

"Tragic that students of color 50+ years later are still unwelcome in public schools. Call them, demand equitable treatment of students of color, an end to racist attacks on students of color, a public apology to students of color, mandated ethnic studies and implicit biases courses every semester and finally allowing a BSU chapter in school," the organization posted on Facebook the day after the photo was reported to school officials.

Image Via Youtube Screenshot