Salmon High School racist photo controversy explained as incident sparks outrage

JThe Salmon High School in Idaho has come under fire after a photo emerged on social media of some of its students spelling out a racial slur on their T-shirts while standing behind a mixed-race girl.

A student from the school had posted the picture on Instagram which has since been deleted. In the photo, six students are posing to the camera with their middle fingers out, and the girl is lying on the ground also holding up her finger, as per local media channel KTVB.

The T-shirts spell out the n-word, a deeply offensive slur to the African-American community. Superintendent for Salmon School District 291, Troy Easterday said in a statement on the school's Facebook page on September 26, 2023, that the students have been reprimanded.

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Salmon High School students cause uproar over racist image

A group of students from Salmon High School posed in front of a mixed-race girl with their t-shirts spelling out the n-word. The racist picture was then posted by one of the students online.

The East Idaho News covered the news while blurring out the student's faces, their t-shirts, and their middle fingers as some of them were underage.

The picture sparked outrage among parents who sent their children to the Salmon High School District to study.

The Superintendent for Salmon School District 291, Troy Easterday, told the local news outlet East Idaho News:

"The Salmon school district, we do not condone, nor ever have what was expressed in the social media post. Disciplinary action at this time has been taken."

He assured the community that disciplinary actions had been taken but did not specify how the school system reprimanded the students.

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The Superintendent for Salmon High School District's statement online

Troy Easterday also released a statement on his Facebook Page on Tuesday, September 26:

"I am well aware of the current situation happening within a social media post by our Salmon School District students. At this time, our administrative team at the Salmon School District is investigating this post and will keep the community aware within the legal confounds of the law," he said.

As per KTVB News, law enforcement and board members were also made aware of the incident by the district.

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Parents' opinions over the racial incident

While the Superintendent set out to reassure the community that the students did not have any malicious intent behind the use of the n-word and the picture, some parents did not share the same opinion. They gave their statements to East Idaho News.

They expressed their concerns that students of color have been targeted and bullied, as per The New York Post. One mother of mixed-race children said she had been worried every day about such behavior of the Salmon High School students:

"The post is disgusting and a hate crime. I’m ashamed and embarrassed. My husband is one of two, maybe three African Americans in this town. I’m afraid if I said too much, it would affect my job or my small business," she said.

Another mother from the same Idaho community, whose students go to the same school, said she was worried that the students involved would not get punished.

The woman added that she was considering pulling her kids out of the Salmon High School district. She gave her statement to East Idaho News:

"The reason why there’s hate in this community is because no one does anything about it. Period. These kids are old enough to know right from wrong. Parents, do better. But you can’t blame the parents for this, because some of them [the students] are 18. They’re adults. It’s disturbing," she said.

Both women have told the local news that they wished to stay anonymous.