Story out of Jacksonville, Florida:
Duval district officials say they don’t know why someone put “Colored” and “Whites only” hand-written signs above two water fountains at First Coast High School on Thursday.
”The signs placed on top of the fountains are completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated by our school district,” said Superintendent Nikolai Vitti. “We are investigating the matter to determine who is behind the action to provide the appropriate discipline and counseling.”
Photos of the fountains with signs written on loose-leaf paper appeared on social media pages Thursday. District officials said school staff took the signs down once they were reported.
Maurice Ellis, 39, an African American, said he almost laughed at the photo, because historical photos of racially designated water fountains usually showed the Whites Only fountain as the bigger, higher, better fountain and the “Colored” one was the smaller, lower fountain.
Whoever did these signs has it backward, he said, adding that he believes whoever did it probably wasn’t thinking deeply about his or her actions or the symbolism.
He suggested the district consider racial sensitivity training for school staff and parents, and local history lessons for students, including lessons about the Civil Rights era. Cont.
Story from - The Florida Times-Union
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