Upstate NY school district blasted over ‘racist’ post of dirty snowman

[The Bobster]

Upstate NY school district blasted over ‘racist’ post of dirty snowman

“Today’s CE Fourth Grade Playground Fun! This snowman is just as diverse as our students!” the caption to the Facebook post read.

nypost.com

Upstate NY school district blasted over ‘racist’ post of dirty snowman​

By
Patrick Reilly


February 1, 2023 8:50pm
Updated

​

An upstate New York school district is on thin ice after posting a photo of a dirty snowman that the district praised as being as “diverse” as its student body.
On Tuesday, the Coxsackie-Athens Central School District shared the tone-deaf image of three Coxsackie Elementary school students standing beside a snowman made from three large snowballs speckled with brown dirt, WRRV first reported.
“Today’s CE Fourth Grade Playground Fun! This snowman is just as diverse as our students!” the caption to the Facebook post read.
The school district deleted the post, but screenshots of the snowman have continued to make the rounds on social media where community members and online users have condemned the district for its insensitivity.
Many people of color have blasted the photo, saying they did not appreciate being compared to dirty snow.
“I don’t want to be compared to a dirty snowman, a snowman w mud = a black, ethnic, diverse snowman & that’s not weird to you?” commented Areona Nugent, who said she never felt comfortable when she was in the school district as a student.
“It’s a lazy & thoughtless way of trying to be ‘inclusive’ instead of hiring more Black&/Brown staff or trying to find ways to make the Black&/Brown community more comfortable, or embrace diversity real ways, real causes of action, not just a muddy snowman & implying it’s diverse …it’s nonsensical & dehumanizing,” she wrote in response to a screenshot of the post.

The school district deleted the post and later apologized.Coxsackie-Athens Central School
“I’m still confused as to why people are laughing because this is not funny by any means such racist overtures and they’re not even hiding it and they’re using a school platform to display it is even more disgusting,” wrote user Anthony Brown in response to the same post.


Another user decided to share the district’s post “since Coxsackie-Athens Central School District decided to delete this post after getting some backlash.”


“This is where language and white privilege collide… smh, i’m sure it was said with innocent intentions from someone who lacks education on diversity, lacks socially acceptable humor and clearly needs a reality check,” another user responded.


District superintendent Randy Squier said in a statement to the school community Tuesday that the post’s “diverse” comment did not have racial connotations as it was interpreted.





“The word ‘diverse’ was used to describe how every kid can make a snowman differently and this variety of creativity should be celebrated,” Squier wrote. “When it was commented that this post could be interpreted about race the post was taken down. We want to apologize and reiterate it was never intended to be hurtful.”


The school added that it would be reviewing its social media policy and procedures in the wake of the controversy.