White students stand on black student in a photo taken at an Alabama high school: 'We got us one'

Six white students stand with their boots on top of a black student on the floor of Moody High School in St. Clair County, Ala. (Photo: agirlhasnopresident via Instagram)
Six white students stand with their boots on top of a black student on the floor of Moody High School in St. Clair County, Ala. (Photo: agirlhasnopresident via Instagram)

A photo that shows six white students all standing with one of their boots on top of a black student at an Alabama high school is being shared across social media. The original photo, which appears to have been shared on Snapchat, was captioned “We got us one.” During a time when racial tension in America is high, the photo has struck a chord with many online.

According to AL.com, the photo was taken at Moody High School, in Moody, Ala. One Twitter user pointed out on Sunday that the teens in the photo were dressed in the theme of “Redneck Day” at the school. Many American high schools have spirit weeks that occur in the first weeks of the school year to bolster camaraderie and excitement for upcoming events. These days are often themed, and students are encouraged to wear things like silly hats, Hawaiian shirts, or the school’s colors, depending on the day of the week.

However, the school’s principal, Christopher Walters, told AL.com that Friday’s theme had the freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior classes dress as four different destinations: Hawaii, New Orleans, Dallas, and Hollywood.

According to the principal, the photo was a joke.

Walters gave a statement to AL.com, which reads in part, “We have confirmed that all students involved are friends and participated voluntarily in creating the picture, which they say was intended to be a ‘joke.’ The picture is offensive and unacceptable, and it does not reflect the values of our school, our students, or our community.”

View this post on Instagram

***Swipe*** This is from Moody High School in Moody Alabama. Every Friday during football season the students dress up, I guess as a spirit thing to excite the students. This past Friday was “Redneck Day.” Why you’d have a redneck day in 2018, is beyond me, but I’ll let that go for now. This photo is circulating with the students. One of those students (who shall remain nameless) happens to be a follower of mine and sent this to me. I sent it to the main office at the school, to the PTO and I’ve tagged several local news stations in Alabama. If you swipe through, you’ll see parents defending their kids who are in this photo, which I find disgusting. “This photo will follow them around forever!” “It was the black kid’s idea!” “My son is not a racist!” Ummm, I hate to break it to you cupcake, but everything about this photo is racist. And I don’t care if “the black kid” suggested it, why would anyone agree to stand with their foot on another human, with that kind of caption?!? Even in Alabama, which has a reputation for such things, as does my home state, this isn’t okay. The not racist thing to do is to stop defending your own offspring and concern yourself with what this type of behavior does to the other students of color who see it, or to their younger siblings and parents. I think they certainly deserve better than this.,Any school should drop the hammer on things like this AND redneck day! It’s 2018! Your vice principal is a black woman! Do the right thing and let this be a learning experience for these kids AND their parents! This should not be tolerated in and form, in ANY state! I’m in Tennessee and I see many trashy racist things but if this happened at my kids schools, I would be all up in their business until this was handled. Every kid in that photo should, at the very least, be suspended. It’s a learning experience @moodyhighschool Don’t pass it up. You have a responsibility here. The rest of your students and their parents are waiting….. @moodyspanishclub @moodydevilsden @mhs.seniorcouncil2019 @moodyfca @mhsmajos @moodyhscheer

A post shared by AGirlHasNoPresident (@agirlhasnopresident) on Sep 17, 2018 at 10:06am PDT

This is not the first time a school’s “Redneck Day” sparked anger. In 2013, a student at a school in Arizona wore the Confederate flag to his Redneck Day, which was meant to be inspired by the reality TV show Duck Dynasty.

Walters did not immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s requests for comment.

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