Racist prom proposal at Alameda High

Administrators address racist sign at Alameda High

A prom-proposal at Alameda High School is under investigation after a student is said to have created and used a sign that featured racist language and made references to racist institutions.

ALAMEDA, Calif. - A prom proposal at Alameda High School is under investigation after a student is said to have created and used a sign that featured racist language and made references to racist institutions.

KTVU spoke with students who said they were not surprised, as school administrators said it was part of "schoolwide culture" they hope to change.

In a message to families earlier this month, Principal Angela Barrett said the prom invitation happened the weekend of May 3 at a party.

A student who was at the party said it was a gathering to watch the Warriors play. The student shared a photo of the sign with KTVU, which used the ‘n’ word and read, "I would be picking cotton, but I'm picking you."

Most students, like junior Naajy Chouteau, said they were not surprised by the incident. "It’s been happening a lot at this school and they should change it and do more," he said.

One student who wants to remain anonymous called the halls at AHS a hostile environment. "When you walk around the halls you can hear some slurs being tossed around," he said.

A promposal at Alameda High says: "I would be pickin' cotton, but I'm pickin' you." 

Racism part of ‘schoolwide culture’

Principal Barrett addressed the students in a video and teachers are discussing the incident with their students in classrooms, addressing racism and harmful speech.

"Rest assured that we will address this as an individual act, but also as part of a troubling aspect of AHS’s schoolwide culture," said Barrett in her email to families.

The "schoolwide culture" – noted in a series of hateful remarks over the years. 

Last fall, the principal sent an email to students about an antisemitic symbol found at the gym during Rosh Hashanah.

In 2022, a bathroom at the school was tagged with swastikas and racial slurs.

"It stopped and it came back," said Chouteau. "It's racist here."

The school is taking proactive steps to change things.

Even though this particular incident happened off-campus, the school district said any incident that surrounds a school event, like the prom, is within their jurisdiction.

"People have to be held accountable for what they say," said Thomas Johnson, who supports at-risk students with behavioral issues. "I think it has to do with the home. Maybe the kids are learning this stuff from other family members."

In an effort to promote better culture, the Alameda Unified Superintendent Pasquale Scuderi wrote in a statement that while most students are respectful, "others clearly need an additional dose of education to ensure they better understand the implications of their actions and their words." 

Of the process to change the school's culture, he continued, "This is an ongoing process that will pair consequences with education, and will involve curriculum, a steady reiteration of expectations, and honest conversations with students and families."

School administrators did not release what actions were taken to discipline the student with the sign due to student privacy laws, but they said responsible parties do receive consequences and lose privileges. 

In 2021, high school students in the Alameda Unified School District were accused of posting and spreading images online that are antisemitic and racist, prompting a district investigation, according to the J. Weekly and the East Bay Times. 

In that case, images included a boy giving a Nazi arm salute as well as another that was doctored so that a student appeared with an Adolf Hitler-style mustache.

EDITOR'S NOTE: An original version of this story incorrectly stated when the district faced an antisemitic incident.