‘We got us one’: Picture of white Alabama teens standing on black student sparks race row

19 Sep, 2018 14:48 / Updated 6 years ago

A group of white Alabama high school students are at the center of a racism storm after a photo of them standing on a black pupil surfaced online with the caption ‘We got us one.’ Participants insist the stunt was a “joke.”

The snap sparked fury on social media after it was handed over to a left-wing Instagram account, @agirlhasnopresident, which claims it contacted the school in question – Moody High School (MHS) in Alabama – to report the incident. According to the whistleblower’s post, “every Friday during football season the students dress up.” On the day the photo was taken, the whistleblower alleged that students were dressed up for ‘Redneck Day.’

Parent of one of the teens, Carrie Wilkinson, hit back at the claims her son was racist, telling those slamming the children on social media that it “was a joke taken out of context” and it was intended only as “fun and games.” The teens have been overwhelmingly slammed online, with TV network CBS42 reporting that the students have received death threats over the issue.

Some of the students involved spoke to CBS42, stating that the picture had been blown “out of proportion.” Austin Gass, one of the white students in the shot, said “if I could go back, I wouldn't have took (sic) the picture” and Nick Fuller, the black student pictured on the floor, added that he’d “like to say sorry again for anyone I offended.”

On social media, the snap, republished by @agirlhasnopresident, has amassed more than 1600 likes and 250 comments. The teens have been overwhelmingly slammed for their “despicable behavior,” calling their actions “sick.” Others were asking “how do [the students] not get it?”

Hitting back at claims that the students were dressing up for ‘Redneck Day,’ MHS principal Christopher Walters released a statement to clarify that “the theme of the day in question was ‘Destination Day,’” which meant “students had the opportunity to dress up to represent destinations around the United States including: Hawaii, New Orleans, Dallas and Hollywood.”

Walters called the image “offensive and unacceptable,” and said that the actions of the students involved were out of character – but that they “will be disciplined appropriately.”

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