Last Updated on February 17, 2023
A Florida preschool teacher made her students wear blackface to honor “Black History Month,” WPLG reported.
Studio Kids Little River, a Miami preschool, has been attacked for the extreme social activism being pushed upon the two to five-year-old students.
On Feb. 3, a teacher posted photos of her students in blackface. The parent of one of the children in the photo called the incident “sickening” and shared the images with fellow parent Courtney Politis.
Politis, whose 1-year-old used to attend the preschool, slammed the school, saying it “should know better.” “You’re a certified, established institutions, you should know better. I mean, ignorance on – about racism in 2023 is no longer ignorant, in my opinion,” Politis told CNN.
She contacted the owner of the preschool, Patricia Vitale, to complain about the racist classroom activity. At first, Vitale acted like she did not understand how the incident was troubling.
“I’m like, this is racist! And she proceeds to respond back with, ‘I’m sorry? I don’t understand?'” Politis explained.
“In our school we don’t use this world [sic] neither we have this kind of mind,” Politis added.
Eventually, Vitale apologized to the preschoolers’ parents, saying:
“We have received a comment from one of our parents regarding the activity that was done in Ms.Flor [sic] class for the black history month. We have not intended to offend anyone, and we are very sorry about any inconvenience. The parents that know us, know that we have never had a bad intention in our institution. This was activity planned for this month. I will appreciate if anybody who is concern [sic] about this can contact me directly.”
Vitale, days later, added that the teachers will be receiving training on how to avoid similar issues in the future. “We wanted to let all the parents know that we met on Friday afternoon with all the teachers and staff. We went over several ethical and multicultural education points. I will teach the team a class covering all the necessary topics regarding US history and multicultural education … you may rest assured this will never happen again,” she wrote.
These pictures were shared with @JhollyW of preschool kids painted in blackface at Early Childhood Studio Kids Little River. It’s how the school recognized Black History Month. @wsvn story: pic.twitter.com/c1RbxtC66q
— Sheldon Fox-7 News (@fox_sheldon) February 11, 2023
40 to 50 concerned parents contacted the school over the weekend, Politis added, suggesting that pushed Vitale to make a statement disavowing the blackface. “Her tone? A 180-degree change. Super apologetic and from what I understand, she even told us that over 40 to 50 families contacted her over the weekend.”
Multiple parents have removed their children from the school following the incident. It is unclear if the teacher will face any repercussions for her activism.
Stay tuned to National File for any updates.
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