Chicago students are caught driving around in blackface

A group of white Chicago high school students have sparked outrage after they filmed themselves driving around in blackface while screaming profanities and harassing McDonald’s drive-thru staff. 

Photos and videos have surfaced online showing several male sophomore students from Homewood-Flossmoor High School wearing blackface over the weekend. 

At least two photos posted on Facebook show the white teenagers driving in a car with their faces painted black. 

A video shows the teens screaming into the camera and later appearing to taunt a black woman at a McDonald’s drive-thru by making disparaging remarks. 

The young McDonald’s employee shown in the video was said to be ‘hurt, frustrated and embarrassed’ by the encounter. 

One woman who shared the photos and video online claims that when the teenagers were confronted about being racist, the boys allegedly responded: ‘I’m not racist, I love black girls. They’re really thick.’

She claims the boys were ‘fetishizing’ black girls’ bodies and ‘reducing the notion of not being racist towards sexual attraction to someone’. 

‘I’m very disappointed that this would happen in this community. The history and effects of black face are well known,’ the woman who shared the photos said.

‘To see students in our communities taking part in this activity and disrespecting the black student population makes me wonder if (Homewood-Flossmoor) truly cares about supporting a safe space for students of color.

‘We need to make sure that the students in this school know that this type of racist behavior will not be tolerated in this community.’ 

At least two photos posted on Facebook show the white teenagers driving in a car with their faces painted black

A video shows the teens screaming profanities into the camera while their faces were painted black

A video shows the teens screaming into the camera and later appearing to taunt a black woman at a McDonald’s drive-thru by making disparaging remarks

The mother of one of the boys told Patch that the teens had been receiving death threats. 

‘This is a very serious thing. As crazy as it sounds, it is not about race. We are not racist. The students didn’t even know what ‘blackface’ meant until they Googled it later. It was a complete dumb and childish act,’ she said. 

The school said it was made aware of the posts on Sunday and called them ‘highly offensive and culturally insensitive’. 

‘This type of behavior is contrary to our expectations, is being addressed quickly and appropriately and will not be tolerated,’ the school wrote in a letter to parents.  

‘The administration immediately requested a meeting that afternoon and met with all of the families and students involved. Due to student confidentiality laws, we are unable to discuss individual students and actions taken.

‘However, we can share that the social media postings that were seen and heard were not representative of the high expectations we have for all students that attend our school.’