North Carolina Principal Apologizes for ‘White’ Sign Pictured Over School Drinking Fountain

From exposés written on police brutality to the influx in racial hate crimes, everything going on in America right now has made me a lot more suspicious of white antics. Some things are genuinely a misunderstanding, but most times Black people are right to assume something sinister is happening.

For instance, when I read that a sign bearing the word “White” in capital letters was placed over a drinking fountain at a public school in the South, I immediately felt my body flood with white-hot rage.

According to WSOC-TV, Piedmont High School Principal Dylan Stamey emailed parents on Tuesday night after students shared photos of the sign across Snapchat.

From WSOC-TV:

The school district said it did not know how far the picture was shared but the concern was high enough that the principal sent out a message to parents, telling them he had investigated the matter.

“During practice, a cheer sign was left just outside the gym on the floor, and it was picked up and placed on a water fountain,” the principal said. “We have investigated this matter and concluded that the placement was not intentional.”

WSOC-TV spoke to an unnamed former student who said her brother currently attends the school. “I know that my brother has told me that they are getting calls from parents already that are angry about what’s going on,” she said, according to WSOC-TV.

I’m sure the principal wanted to prevent his school from joining those in Newberg, Ore., and Park Hill, Mo., in a headline-making contest for racist stunts. In a climate in which we, justifiably, put nothing past white people, he needed to clear this all up and fast.

According to the Charlotte Observer, Union County Public Schools spokeswoman Tahira Staberte said in an email that the school’s colors are blue and white and that the sign is used in athletic activities.

The sign called back memories of segregation among those who saw it. Stamey apologized if anyone was offended, the Observer reports.