SACRAMENTO, California — St. Francis Catholic High School is back at the center of a racial controversy after one of its students altered a selfie to show herself in blackface to impersonate a Black classmate.
It comes after multiple Black parents and former students reached out to ABC10 revealing allegations of racist behavior allegedly ignored.
Blackface is considered to be offensive by most people. It dates back to before the Civil War, a time where Black people were considered property and excluded from rights and opportunities afforded to white Americans.
Alexis Dozier, a former St. Francis High School student, shared her story with ABC10 about how she felt vulnerable while she was on the St. Francis campus.
"Any black or brown kid is a novelty," Dozier said. "It's obvious that we don't fit in there. We stick out, and so we're a target for a lot of the students and a lot of the teachers."
The high school launched what they called the Racial Reconciliation Plan in response to the allegations in 2020. Jason Javier-Watson, an assistant principal, described the claims as "heartbreaking."
"These heartbreaking stories caused us to take a deep and reflective look at our policies and practices," Javier-Watson said.
A St. Francis High School spokesperson released a statement calling the student's actions unacceptable and disciplinary actions were taken.
The spokesperson also admitted there is still needs to done to honor the school's commitment to supporting healing for students and families of color, specifically their Black and African American students.
(Editor's Note: This story has been edited to better describe the blackface photo.)
