Two local diversity advocates in Arizona called a school district racist for hiring a DJ to perform in blackface — but the DJ was black.
Stuart Rhoden and Jill Lassen lambasted the Scottsdale Unified School District’s Hopi Elementary PTA for its decision to hire Kim Koko Hunter, a local black DJ, for a charity event.
Rhoden and Lassen slammed the school after seeing a picture of Hunter.
‘The DJ that the Hopi PTA hire[d] was, in fact a Black man,’ Hopi PTA president Megan Livengood wrote in response to Lassen. ‘It is insulting that you feel myself or PTA condone racist behavior or encourage it by posting on social media.’
According to The Independent, Lassen, a librarian, responded by saying: ‘You are right, we should’ve reached out and inquired before making such accusations. I cannot fathom the hurt, anger and frustration you felt after you and others volunteered countless hours on your event. Again I truly apologize.’
But Rhoden, an instructor at Arizona State University, was not particularly apologetic and posted a side-by-side image of Hunter on Facebook to try to show that the DJ darkened his face even though he was black.
‘Let me be clear, a black man, apparently in black face is an entirely different discussion than a White person,’ he wrote on Facebook. ‘However… it seems at the very least he is in darker make-up if not “Black face” or I am completely mistaken and it’s the lighting of the patio.’
Rhoden is a member of the district’s Equity and Inclusion Committee and Lassen is a co-chair of the Scottsdale Parent Council’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.
‘Was I not Black enough? How black do I got to be for people to know that I’m an actual Black person,’ he said.