Kicked out of their high school for “blackface”, the two teenagers will nevertheless receive a million dollars

La photo polémique était devenue virale en 2020, au plus fort des émeutes Black Lives Matter. ILLUSTRATION MAXPPP – Chris Juhn

Two American high school students expelled from a major private school for wearing black face have been awarded a million dollars after arguing that they were in fact wearing an acne mask.

The jury in Santa Clara, California, ruled in favor of two high school students fired from their private Catholic school, after the publication of photos in which they posed with their faces painted in black.

The facts date back to 2017. The two white teenagers, aged 14 at the time, took a photo of themselves during a "slumber party& ;quot; in which they appear posing in front of a mirror, their faces covered in black, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The photo resurfaced and went viral in 2020, following the assassination of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests that followed. The three boys are accused of "blackface", a process aimed at mocking Africans by painting their faces black.

Teenagers accused of blackface The Superior Court of California

They were then fired from the prestigious St Francis Catholic establishment in Mountain View in California, without any prior interview.

Masks against acne

As part of a lawsuit filed by their parents against the Catholic school, the courts recognized that the masks were in fact facial masks used in the treatment of children. rsquo;acne.

The teens received $500,000 each and $70,000 in tuition reimbursement, while the school was found guilty of not having conducted an appropriate investigation and having broken an oral contract.

"The jury rightly confirmed that the procedures of Saint Francis High School were unfair to our clients and that the establishment is not above the law", declared one of the lawyers for the two students.

The establishment for its part, assures to be "respectfully disagree » with the jury's conclusion and "considering legal options", as an appeal.