Several students at a Minnesota high school are facing suspension for wearing costumes that some say looked too much like the hood and robes of the Ku Klux Klan.
Seven boys at Mound Westonka High School in Minnetrista wore white shirts and white bandanas on their heads that were folded to come to a point at the top to a dodgeball contest last Wednesday.
"I turned around, and the team behind me looked like they came in with a Ku Klux Klan uniform, or an interpretation of it," senior Ryan Anderson told WCCO, the local CBS station. "It was something to say the least.”
No one said anything during the event itself, which was supervised by teachers and administrators, according to local Fox station KMSP. However, the district received complaints after images were shared on social media.
"The teachers didn’t recognize it as something that could be offensive because all they saw was a bunch of kids dressed in white," junior Santiago Rodriguez, who saw photos of the event from a friend, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "It wasn’t the stereotypical hooded Klansman, but they were still going for a KKK-vibe with it."
"Anybody who is well-versed in history can know that anyone with a pointed white hat is trying to symbolize the KKK," a parent who asked to remain anonymous told KMSP. "There are not a lot of other organizations that can be confused with."
The district told WCCO that "appropriate action was taken in accordance with district policy" but did not provide details, and said its investigation into the incident was ongoing.
The school's population is 93 percent white, 3 percent Hispanic, 2 percent African-American and 2 percent Asian, according to the Washington Post.
(h/t Raw Story)