A South Carolina elementary school has come under fire after two of its employees dressed up as Border Patrol agents to represent Mexico as part of an “Olympic parade” event.
Royall Elementary School in Florence was forced to apologize for the “insensitive” act, which sparked backlash after it was shared on social media.
On Wednesday, staff dressed in the “offensive” attire as part of celebrations for the first week back at school.
Footage from the event showed two staff members wearing T-shirts reading ‘US Border Patrol’ and posing in front of a fake brick wall.
Royall Elementary School in Florence sparked outrage after two of its employees dressed up as Border Patrol agents to represent Mexico as part of an “Olympic parade” event
Others were seen wearing sombreros and posing in front of a sign that read ‘Royall Cantina’, which is the Spanish word for bar.
A Mexican-American father who saw the exhibit was one of the first to raise the alarm about the “disheartening” presentation.
Her online post alerted other parents who were left in disbelief after seeing the images on the school’s official Facebook page.
“As a Mexican-American, as a Hispanic woman, as a mother of biracial Hispanic children in the Florence 1 school district, I feel very offended, very offended,” Annette Fling, the children’s mother, told ABC4 News.
‘These are educators with degrees who should have known better. Of all the things they could have done for the culture, community and country of Mexico, they chose to use the U.S. Border Patrol.
“And Royal Cantina, which means bar in Spanish. Inappropriate, racial. A real disgrace.”
Staff dressed in the “offensive” attire as part of celebrations for the first week back to school on Wednesday.
Annette Fling, a local mother who is Mexican-American, criticized the display as “offensive” and “racist.”
Another anonymous parent took to Facebook to share their thoughts on the matter.
“There were many other ways to represent Mexico in the ‘Olympic Parade.’ In reality, Border Patrol has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with ‘Back to School’ or the ‘Olympics,’ in case you didn’t know,” he fumed.
“And a ‘cantina’ is also an inappropriate representation of Mexican culture. The staff and principals at Royall Elementary School should explain themselves immediately. There is no way they thought this was okay.
‘Those teachers should have studied Mexican culture and reflected more deeply on it.’
Royall has about 40 Hispanic and Latino students out of 462, according to demographic data from U.S. News.
The school is comprised entirely of economically disadvantaged students and is ranked 124th out of about 600 elementary schools in South Carolina.
“We regret to acknowledge that an image posted yesterday on our Facebook page showed a callous disregard for the current challenges facing our Hispanic population,” the school said in a statement.
Royall has about 40 Hispanic and Latino students out of 462, according to demographic data from US News
The school issued a humiliating apology following backlash from parents.
‘At Royall, we are very proud of our long-standing tradition of welcoming and supporting every student who walks through the doors of our building.
‘Our staff is unanimously committed to celebrating the diversity of our families and ensuring that each and every Royall student is successful, happy, and recognized for their unique culture and abilities.
‘We apologize for our insensitivity, but we look forward to fostering relationships as we begin a new school year.’
Florence Schools Superintendent Dr. Richard O’Malley also addressed the “inappropriate” post.
“Today this matter has been fully investigated and those who contributed to this event have been held accountable for their decisions and actions,” he said.
“There is no place for anything of this nature in our schools and I will not tolerate it in our school district.”