AH, MEMORIES

High School Principal Apologizes for Racist Image in Yearbook of MLK

The principal said the school would print stickers to paste over the offending picture.

A high school principal in Georgia has apologized to parents and students after an offensive image appeared in the school’s 2019-2020 yearbook. The racist picture in the Collins Hill High School yearbook showed Martin Luther King Jr. handing a student a paper labeled “N-word pass” alongside the student’s name. Kerensa Wing wrote in response, “This is unacceptable... Once this investigation is completed we will take appropriate action with those involved.” Wing elaborated that because the yearbook had been unfinished when the coronavirus pandemic forced the closure of the school, editors solicited selfies from seniors, and one student sent in the offending photo. Teachers and administrators reviewing the yearbook before publication did not catch it, according to Wing. The school ordered stickers from its printing company to paste over the picture.