School didn’t catch ‘offensive’ photo before it went in yearbook, Georgia principal says
.JPG "A principal apologized after she says an “offensive” photo was published in her school’s yearbook.")
A Georgia principal discovered an “offensive” photo in her school’s yearbook after copies were already printed, she says.
The edited picture shows black civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. next to a student who holds a page that reads: “official n-word pass,” WAGA reported Wednesday. The image made it into the yearbook of Collins Hill High School, located in Gwinnett County and roughly 30 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta.
Principal Kerensa Wing in a Facebook post addressed Collins Hill families and employees and called the incident “disturbing.”
“The yearbooks arrived this week and we began distributing them when it was brought to our attention that it includes an inappropriate and racist photograph,” the principal said Wednesday. “This is unacceptable and we are currently investigating to determine who submitted this photo and how our processes did not address this before it went to print.”
Aaliyah Williams, a graduating senior, said she was thrilled to get her yearbook until she took a closer look, WSB-TV reported.
“It hurts me to the core,” Williams told the TV station. “Of everything that’s going on right now, that shouldn’t be a joke.”
Wing says the school has turned to the yearbook company for help with making a sticker that features a “replacement photo.” The sticker would be sent to everyone who has already bought a yearbook, according to the school.
For yearbooks that haven’t been passed out, officials took steps to alter the “offensive” picture, the principal wrote on Facebook.
“I know offensive words and sentiments like the ones included in this photo are hurtful and you have my full apology this has happened,” Wing said in her post. “I am disappointed in the students involved, as this is not who we are at Collins Hill High School and does not reflect our values and beliefs.”
This story was originally published June 11, 2020 at 9:42 AM with the headline "School didn’t catch ‘offensive’ photo before it went in yearbook, Georgia principal says."
