FHS alumni disappointed students posed in 'culturally insensitive' clothing
CBC
Former Fredericton High School students say outfits chosen by the graduating class that incorporated stereotypes of Black culture were disappointing.
A group of mostly white students arrived at the school Monday dressed for their graduation photos. All of those students wore jeans and white tank tops, but some incorporated bandanas, do-rags, and gold jewlery to portray a theme they referred to as "gangsters" on social media.
A few students added twists and braids in their hair that resembled cornrows and box braids.
"I find it extremely disappointing ... but unfortunately, I'm not surprised at all," said Savannah Thomas, a former student at Fredericton High.
Thomas, who graduated in 2018, said she experienced acts of racism and cultural appropriation during her time there.
She said in her graduating year a boy in several of her classes greeted her every day with the sentence, "Hey, what's up my [N-word]."
"He would ask me how to do gang symbols and put cornrows in his hair and went as far as showing me videos of Black men being shot," Thomas said.