Local parents furious after student gains access to school TV and displays racist message

HOMESTEAD — Steel Valley School District parents are trying to understand how a student gained access to the middle school cafeteria TV and displayed a repulsive and racist message.

A picture of the incident has been making its rounds online. It depicts rapper London Yellow and the caption of his song containing a racial epitaph.

A middle school parent told Channel 11 over the phone that she was horrified to learn about the incident.

“How did it get up on the TVs at school? How did this breach happen?” she asked.

A statement from the school district explains that the student displayed the image from the Spotify app, and it was on the screen for approximately 50 seconds.

During that time, another student took a photo of the screen. The district also says that the student was able to connect their phone to the TV.

The district claims they are now working to eliminate this vulnerability.

Homestead Borough council member Mary Nesby also sent Channel 11 a statement about the incident:

“As a parent, resident and member of Homestead Council, I am outraged by the video that allegedly surfaced at Steel Valley Middle School. As community leaders, educators and administrators, we have a responsibility to ensure that each and every child we encounter is safe from racism and discrimination. It’s appalling to me that someone would continuously hinder and undo the strides this community and the school district is making to bridge the gap of systematic racism that still exists in this day and age. This is a very sensitive matter and I am asking that we allow the steel valley school district administrators to do their part in investigating this issue. At this time I have no further comment.”

The Steel Valley School District says the students involved in the cafeteria incident will face disciplinary action. They also encourage district families to use what happened as a teaching moment about diversity, unity and equality.

Southern Beltway opens Friday to connect Washington County, Pittsburgh International Airport