'Beyond absurd': Principal says no offense intended when she wore Steve Harvey blackface

The Southern York County School District provides each family with a student handbook at the beginning of the year.

Within its pages, the district outlines “basic values that are understood to be part of the cultural and historic heritage of our community. They are the code by which we live. Even in a world of change, they remain firmly in place.”

One of these beliefs is that “respect for individual diversity is an essential element of a positive learning environment.” And while the language seems fairly clear, the district’s website notes that clarifying questions should be addressed to the building principal.

At Friendship Elementary School in Glen Rock, that person would be Principal Lisa Boyer, whose photo was recently sent to the York Daily Record with her posing as television personality Steve Harvey in blackface.

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The photo obtained by the York Daily Record was also sent to the school district soon after it was taken — in August.

Sandra Lemmon, superintendent at Southern York County, said the school district had been made aware of Twitter posts by a former food service contractor employee who said the district “swept under the rug” a “blackface” incident involving one of its building principals.

One of the tweets can be seen here:

“The School District wishes to correct factual inaccuracies in those tweets, as well as to explain the prompt remedial action that was taken to address this unfortunate incident,” Lemmon said in a statement.

The district’s statement, which can be found below, provides some context for the photo:

The building principal in question held a team building exercise with her school staff at the beginning of this school year. No students were present in the school on this day since it was a staff in-service day. The principal had the staff play a game based upon the television show, “Family Feud,” and she dressed up as the show’s host, Steve Harvey. The principal wore a man’s suit, a stocking to cover her hair, a fake mustache and makeup on her face to darken her skin color. The School District’s central office administration was advised of the principal['s] appearance later that same day, and the incident was immediately investigated.

After completing the investigation, the principal was disciplined and apologized to school staff who were present for the incident. The central office administration also made clear to the principal that such conduct violated both the letter and the spirit of the School District’s nondiscrimination policies. This matter was not “swept under the rug,” it was promptly addressed – and it was made clear that this incident was inappropriate within the school setting. The School District has, and will continue to strive, to offer both its students and employees a school environment that is free from racially insensitive conduct.

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During a phone interview, Lemmon said the investigation involved meeting with the staff members who were present. To her knowledge, all those individuals were Caucasian.

“They shared that they were surprised,” Lemmon said, “and they shared very openly that they did not believe that her intent was to offend in any way.”

Sandra Thompson, president of the York NAACP, said if the teachers present —regardless of race — were not offended by Boyer’s actions, then the education system may need even more work than she thought.

Blackface is beyond wearing dark makeup for the sake of a costume or joke.

Its history in America dates back to the minstrel shows where in the mid to late nineteenth century white actors would paint their faces with black grease to portray plantation slaves for a laugh. It was also used in the 1915 movie "The Birth of a Nation," which celebrated the Ku Klux Klan and portrayed black men as dangerous, lazy, unintelligent and sexually aggressive.

It has been widely accepted as a racist caricature that mocks African-Americans, yet people continue to do it today.

Since it is considered a personnel matter, Lemmon said she was unable to elaborate on what the specific disciplinary actions against Boyer were.

So what did the principal have to say?

Boyer shared a similar sentiment in an email to the York Daily Record. She did not wish to speak over the phone or respond to follow-up emails.

"I'm sorry, but I really want to put this behind me and am saddened that you don't understand this," Boyer wrote. "I have shared my comments in my email."

The email from Boyer said:

I can share with you that I held a team building exercise with the elementary school staff on an in-service day before the start of the year.

I had staff members play a game based upon the television show, "Family Feud," and I dressed up as the show's host, Steve Harvey. My intention was never to offend anyone; however, I understand now how my actions could be viewed as insensitive and inappropriate. I deeply regret my decision and have learned from it.

Even though I did not have ill intent, my poor choice was addressed by both the administrative team and school board. On top of those repercussions, I publicly apologized to staff and met with some parents as well.

Though this was poor judgement on my part, I plan to use this example to help students learn from my mistake so that we may all understand how to be sensitive to all cultures. For the past 30 years, I have devoted my life to helping and educating children to be the best people they can be through spreading kindness. I truly care about people and pray that you understand that as well. Thank you for reaching out to me. Take care.

"As an educator, Boyer's actions suggest she is not fostering an inclusive environment for young children to learn and grow comfortably and freely," said Melissa Plotkin, a spokeswoman for the York Jewish Community Center.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO.

'Putting on blackface is beyond absurd'

However, those "vague answers" did not suffice for Chad Dion Lassiter, executive director of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, and national expert on race relations.

What did this "handling" look like, Lassiter questioned. Who was consulted? What action was taken?

“This teacher as an educator has to know that putting on blackface is beyond absurd. It is racially insensitive." Lassiter said. "White privilege allowed the principal to not see that anything that she did was racially insensitive, and what follows is a continuation of a hollow apology.”

Although Boyer has said her intent was not offend anyone, it leaves room for speculation, Thompson said.

“You intended to dress as Steve Harvey which is not a problem, but then you intentionally acted to dress in blackface,” Thompson said. “So if you are going to dress in blackface, what do you think that blackface means? How do you think it is regarded? You would have to say that in 2018 you had no knowledge that blackface is offensive. And if a principal and educator is to say that, we really have a problem.”

To disregard the sensitivity around blackface, Thompson said, is not acceptable behavior for anyone, let alone someone in a position of authority.

"It suggests this is just something people need to get over,” Thompson said. “Was her intent to say people have to be less sensitive to the issue?”

This serves as a potentially teachable moment for the school. Lassiter said since he has now been informed of the incident, the HRC will reach out to the district to see how they responded to the situation. 

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He is determined to get the full details of the investigation and the disciplinary actions that were taken by the school district. 

"It's not about seeing someone lose their job," Plotkin said, "it's about making sure that our schools are proactive — that they understand the gravity of the situation. A training session, a public forum...we need to be reassured that action was taken."

Lassiter even offered to come to the school and hold an in-service day centered around bias training and racial sensitivity.

“This incident reinforces why it is so important that we continue to educate others about discrimination,” Lassiter said. “The school should have come out with the strongest of condemnation when they were informed of this incident and anything less is unacceptable.”