High School Apologizes for Insensitive Band Costumes

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The Peters Township School District in Pennsylvania has formally apologized to the Woodland Hills School District for the outfits some of its marching band members wore last week during a high school football playoff game.

As reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, at least two students — drum majors — representing the overwhelmingly white Peters district wore full-body spandex known as “morph suits” in the color black, which was perceived to carry racist overtones. One drum major wore white shorts while the other wore a white Marilyn Monroe-style dress and wig. The spectacle drew outrage and condemnation from athletes, cheerleaders, coaches and spectators in the Woodland Hills district, which is predominantly Black.

In a letter dated Tuesday and posted to the Woodland Hills’ website, Peters superintendent Jeannine French told her counterpart at Woodland Hills, James Harris, that an initial investigation revealed that “the involved students chose the costumes without racist or harmful intent.”

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