A teacher from Antioch is in the news lately, and for all the wrong reasons. The teacher's Halloween costume landed her in trouble, and the result put her on administrative leave. For those unaware, the elementary teacher was dressed up as the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine.
However, what was troubling about her Halloween look was that she painted her face black to represent the nighttime. Other than this, the teacher also wore a green moon over her head. She even wore a box representing the blue, green, and orange minivan Scooby-Doo and the gang drove around on their mission to solve mysteries.
Soon after this, the Antioch teacher was heavily criticized by some of the parents, and they said this was blackface and quite offensive. As the news went online, it quickly went viral, and several social media users condemned this incident.
A Reddit user, @theartfooldodger, reacted to this news on Reddit by saying, 'We are truly living in a satanic panic right now.'
Social media users react to Antioch teacher's Halloween look, calls it offensive
As internet users came across the news of a teacher wearing dark makeup for a Halloween look, they started calling this incident racist and offensive. Several social media users reacted to this by saying that this is ridiculous.
A school board member of Antioch School also spoke about this incident where the teacher wore dark makeup and was criticized. The board member talked about the history of dark makeup attached to racism in the US.
School board member Antonio Hernandez said they understand the feelings of parents and students in the community
Antonio Hernandez, the school board member, while speaking with the NBC Bay Area, talked about the Antioch Halloween incident.
"We know that there’s a long cultural, historical background to people putting dark makeup on, and there’s a lot of context there that we know is harmful to particular students of color and very particular to the Black community."
He further said,
"Regardless of what the intention was, we know what kind of feelings that image can provoke in parents, students and in the community."
Antonio also confirmed that, after receiving several complaints against the elementary teacher, they decided to place her on administrative leave. Currently, it is not clear whether her administrative leave will be permanent or not.
The school board member concluded by saying that it is important for the district to have an inclusive and welcoming environment.
The Antioch teacher was not the only one who got into trouble because of Halloween costumes.
Recently, Khloe Kardashian was also accused of alleged blackfishing as she shared pictures of her Halloween look. She could be seen with brown tanned skin. After the photos were posted, several people criticized her and said this is what blackfishing looks like.
