A Colorado Springs second-grader at Meridian Ranch Elementary school found himself in hot water Wednesday when he was pulled out of class for dressing like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. while also wearing black face paint.
KRDO first reported that Sean King dressed up as MLK, Jr. for a school project. The boy's mother told KRDO that it was "wax museum day" for the second grade class and that each child was assigned a historical figure to dress up as.
King showed up for school on Wednesday doing a Martin Luther King impersonation, wearing a black suit, tie, mustache and black face paint -- his parents were with him, as were all the students' parents, to watch the day's presentation. But before things could get started, the school's principal told the second-grader that he needed to wash his face, according to KWGN, leaving Sean confused.
"They thought it was inappropriate and it will be disrespectful to black people and I say it's not," young Sean said to KRDO. "I like black people. It's just a costume and I don't want to insult anybody."
Stephanie Meredith, a spokesperson for the school's principal, said that it wasn't just the school's staff that was offended by Sean's face paint, it was other students as well. So the principal took action, 7News reports. The NAACP has also come out in support of of the principal's actions.
But some people thought that school went too far with the second-grader. Some even took to Meridian Ranch Elementary's Facebook page in support of Sean. Bill Stevens wrote:
I really would like an honest answer to why a young man was told to remove his make up portraying Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for his presentation. It seems school districts today are just a bit over zealous when it comes to racial correctness. If this young man wasn't disrespecting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or his audience then why would you do something like this? This is what causes racial division in our country today. Why not taking more of an interest in what students are trying to convey instead of hamstringing then when they thought was correct. I'm interested in your response.
Click through to KRDO for a full slideshow of the second-grader dressed as MLK, Jr. on "wax museum" day.