World's Worst Pep Rally Features Blackface Re-enactment of Chris Brown Beating Rihanna
What's the best way to enliven a crowd at a pep rally? Is it cheerleaders? School songs? Jock Jams Vol. 2? For one high school in upstate New York, the preferred method is to dress in blackface and re-enact Chris Brown's horrific beating of Rihanna.
CNN iReporter Matt Dishler, a student at Waverly Central School, broke the story (all sic):
But what happened at that pep rally went much farther than simple cheers. Three white students were to perform a skit in black face, depicting Chris Brown and Rhianna most notibly. In this skit they would display acts of domestic violence as satire to an audience that included not only students but parents, faculty, and various members of the media and community leaders. None of them stopped the skit.
This is, Dishler writes, the second time in two years that students and teachers at Waverly have sat through a racist pep rally skit. (He also says that the skit was approved by administrators; the superintendent says he had no idea it was going to happen but has received complaints.)
But don't take Dishler's word for it ("NOT VETTED BY CNN," the channel undermines). "Waverly pep rally skit draws criticism," writes The Daily Review:
The article also included statements from two alumni expressing their disapproval of the photo, which they said appeared to be offensive and racist and made light of domestic violence.
Joseph Yelich, superintendent of the Waverly Central School District, said in a statement to The Daily Review that he plans to meet Tuesday with administrators regarding the incident. He also plans to meet in the near future with extracurricular adviser and student groups.
Yes, this photograph of white kids, in blackface, re-enacting an episode of domestic violence did appear to be offensive and racist, didn't it? God forbid you violate your journalistic neutrality! The Daily Review commenters, as always, get right to the heart of the story: