Indiana student listed as ‘BLACK GUY’ in high school yearbook photo caption as principal calls it ‘a truly reprehensible error’
- The student at Brown County High School in Nashville, Ind., was depicted in a photo of a basketball team
- The county school district Superintendent Laura Hammack announced an investigation Monday, saying she was ‘devastated’ and ‘heartbroken’
- The school district is considering republishing the yearbook and collecting the old copies
- The rural county is 95.3% white and 0.7% black
An Indiana student was labelled ‘BLACK GUY’ in a photo caption in a high school yearbook, and the school district is investigating just how that happened.
In a blurred-out photo that has circulated online, the student seems to be the only black player shown in a photo of a boys’ basketball team from Brown County High School in Nashville, Ind.
All the other students seem to be listed by name.
The school district called the caption ‘a truly reprehensible error’ in a letter dated Monday and signed by Brown County School District Superintendent Laura Hammack and the high school’s principal, Matthew Stark, according to WRTV.
In the 2020 yearbook for Brown County High School in Nashville, Ind., a student was indicated as ‘BLACK GUY,’ according to a photo that has circulated online. The student seems to be the only black student depicted in a photo of the a basketball team.
Hammack said in a Facebook Live video Monday that a parent alerted her to the photo caption.
‘In the 2020 yearbook, a student was indicated instead of by his name, he was indicated as, quote, black guy.’
‘This is a clear violation of our non-discrimination policy that we have in place in our district,’ said Hammack. ‘We do not tolerate any discrimination of any kind against any protected class.’
‘Tonight I come to you very much devastated for the family that needs to go through this and heartbroken that our community needs to go through this,’ she said.
Hammack said the district is conducting an investigation to determine exactly what happened with the photo caption.
The county school district’s superintendent, Laura Hammack, said the caption was ‘a clear violation of our non-discrimination policy’ and said she was ‘devastated for the family’
The Brown County School District announced Monday it is conducting an investigation into the incident and considering republishing the yearbook and collecting old copies.
The district is considering republishing the 2020 Brown County High School yearbook and collecting old copies, said Hammack.
The school had no black students during the 2018-2019 school year, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Department of Education. Total minority enrollment was 5.7%.
Rural Brown County is 95.3% white and 0.7% black, according to U.S. Census data from 2019.
In the Facebook Live video, Hammack read a comment from Brenda Knapp, whose Facebook page indicates she lives in nearby Morgantown.
‘This is the reason I took my mixed son out of brown county school,’ she wrote, further explaining that he ‘kept getting bullied and called names.’