Elementary School Staffer Placed on Leave After Wearing Blackface to Work in Protest of Vaccine Mandate

A staff member at Mabel Rush Elementary school in Newberg, Oregon has been placed on leave after she showed up to work in blackface.

Per KGW, the staff member in question allegedly claimed she dressed as Rosa Parks as part of a protest against a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for school staff. The district statement on the matter does not state if the woman is a teacher, as the vaccine mandate in the school district specifies all staff must get the vaccine, not just educators.

“Last Friday, one of our employees reported for work in Blackface,” read the statement from the Newberg, Oregon school district. “The employee was removed from the location, and HR has placed the employee on administrative leave. The administration of Newberg Public Schools condemns all expressions of racism. It is important to remember how Blackface has been used to misrepresent Black communities and do harm. We acknowledge the violence this represents and the trauma it evokes regardless of intention.”

“Blackface has no place in our schools, and we are committed to the work of created spaces where every student belongs as we move forward together in our mission of educating students,” the statement concluded.