Indiana high school apologizes for captioning student’s yearbook photo as ‘BLACK GUY’

NASHVILLE, Ind. — An Indiana high school is being investigated by its district superiors after a Black student was identified in a school yearbook photo caption not by his name but as “BLACK GUY.”

Brown County Schools Superintendent Dr. Laura Hammack and Brown County High School Principal Matthew Stark issued a letter dated Monday calling the incident “a truly reprehensible error,” WRTV reported.

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“We acknowledge that yearbook is the only class at this school where all assignments and homework are published for all to see … We strive for perfection and hope any errors are minor and inconsequential. This is not an inconsequential error,” the letter stated.

According to The Hill, the 2019-2020 yearbook image of the boys' basketball team began circulating on social media, triggering a Tuesday video message from Hammack.

“It has been brought to our attention that that yearbook has a truly incomprehensible statement included in it,” she said in her video address. “We are currently trying to better understand what that situation is all about.”

The yearbooks will be republished at the district’s expense, and Hammack’s joint letter with Stark stated the error is a “clear violation of our nondiscrimination policy” and the district is “working collaboratively with the student’s family to find ways to rectify the situation,” WRTV reported.

According to state data, 92.2% of Brown County High School’s 577 students during the 2019-2020 school year were white, The Hill reported.

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