Florida Teen "Cotton Picking" Promposal Goes Viral
Officials at a Sarasota, Florida, high school are investigating a racist "promposal" sign that went viral. The image reportedly shows a Riverview High School student, identified as 18-year-old Noah Crowley, holding a sign that reads: "If I was black I'd be picking cotton, but I'm white so I'm picking u 4 Prom?"
According to WFLA, the acting school principal, Kathy Wilks, sent a message to parents and students Monday to make everyone aware of "the situation."
"It was racial in nature and administration became aware of it last night," Wilks said in her message. "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."
The recipient responded with heart-eyed emojis, but students in the community are upset about the contents. “I think it is actually important that this issue occurred on some level,” Riverview senior Anton Kernohan told the Herald-Tribune. “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.”
The school administration is now investigating the social media post and Wilks said "appropriate action" will be taken. The student who made the "promposal" sign has apologized on social media.
″I want to sincerely apologize if I have offended anyone with the picture going around. That was not my intention. Anyone who knows me or ... knows that that’s not how we truly feel,” he said, according to WTSP. “It was a completely [sic] joke and it went too far.
Other students at the school were surprised by the sign, but still offended. "We've been knowing him since freshman year. I never thought he would say something like that,” student Nolan Perez said.
Another student commented that it was a bad joke gone wrong. "I think it was something that he thought was gonna be funny, but its not,” student Erin Williams said.
School officials are working with local and national civic leaders, including the NAACP, to develop a district-wide round table forum to discuss the issue of race.
From: WBAL TV
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