MARYLAND – A US Muslim civil rights group has condemned the attitude of some Maryland students who dressed in ‘racist’ Halloween costumes and body-writing and posted images of the hate-filled attire on social media.
“Each year at this time of year, we see racist and inappropriate Halloween costumes that use racist tropes and perpetuate culturally-insensitive stereotypes,” Dr. Zainab Chaudry, the Maryland Outreach Department of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) spokesperson, said in a statement published on Monday, October 30.
“These latest examples are symptomatic of a polarized political climate that emboldens hate in America. They do not belong in an enlightened society.”
The statement followed reports that several elite Baltimore private schools were caught up in a social media firestorm over photos of students and alumni dressed in racially charged Halloween costumes.
In one image, two teens — who are reportedly students and recent grads of Roland Park Country School, Gilman School, Boy’s Latin School of Maryland, and St. Paul’s School — are dressed in what appears to be orange jumpsuits, and flash hand signals with a caption “n***** broke out” [of jail].
In another image, a male is seen posing in what also appears to be an orange jumpsuit with “Freddie Gray” emblazoned across the back, and a caption that reads: “ur going to jail tonight.”
Gray died from injuries sustained in police custody in 2015, a case that attracted national attention after rioting broke out in the city following his death.
In a third image, a Nazi swastika, a racial slur, and text referring to Hitler are scrawled across the back of a grinning, topless white male.
In the joint statement issued on Monday, Gilman School and Roland Park Country School both condemned the incident and said they are investigating what happened.
“Obviously, this sort of behavior cannot be tolerated, and we share in the hurt and dismay this action may have caused. We take all matters involving students seriously, and will determine how best to address the matter internally after further investigation,” said George E. Andrews Jr., the school’s president.
In a letter to students’ families, Boys’ Latin Headmaster Christopher J. Post said he was “deeply troubled that an individual would choose to act in this way” and “so sorry for any hurt or pain that these actions have caused.”
“Boys’ Latin denounces the insensitivity and intolerance depicted by these images,” Post wrote. “In no way, shape or form will Boys’ Latin support or tolerate actions or behaviors that demean or belittle another person, a group of individuals, or the suffering that one may endure.”
Lately, CAIR has responded to a string of racist incidents occurring in Maryland localities, including calling on school officials to develop a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy for racism after students at a high school in Harford County wore shirts with a letter emblazoned on them that spelled out the derogatory “n” word.
CAIR also recently condemned racist flyers promoting white supremacy and anti-Semitism in Montgomery County.