A student dressed as a Ku Klux Klan member for a school project drew an angry reaction at Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy in Wilmington last Friday.
The student dressed up as part of a final project for a history class, said the Los Angeles Unified School District. The student apparently chose to explore topics related to racism and dressed as a KKK member for a presentation.
Students said the outfit was approved by a history teacher and were outraged by the teacher's decision, calling it "absolutely wrong."
A student who tweeted photos of the costume told NBC4 that he and many of his friends were hurt that this could be allowed by a teacher.
The school is now on summer break, but parents there for new student orientation on Thursday were disgusted by photos of the student in KKK garb.
"It's sad, makes me very sad to see that they would be OK with that," said Kimberly Knox, whose children attend the school.
Knox said that she was so upset by the images it was hard to find words.
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"That's just crazy that they would let them come to school dressed up like that," said Knox's daughter, Kaitlyn, a sixth grader at the school.
Gladys, another parent at the school, said that while she understood how the portrayal could offensive, there is a take-away for her daughter.
"It is something that happened back in the days," Gladys said. "It's happening now for whatever reason. It's something for [my daughter] to kind of learn from it."
LAUSD released a statement saying it supports diversity, calling the student's costume "highly inappropriate."
"LA Unified and Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy understand the extreme sensitivity around this issue and do not condone or support this type of re-enactment," a portion of the statement read.
When asked whether the teacher could face disciplinary action for this incident, a district spokesperson said the matter is under investigation.
