Two teenage boys in the US who were expelled from school after being accused of an alleged blackface photo have been awarded $1 million each after proving it was just an acne face mask. According to the New York Post, the two students and their parents sued Saint Francis High School in California after a photo emerged showing the boys wearing the acne treatment mask. As per the lawsuit, they took a selfie with the mask on their faces during a sleepover in 2017, apparently in solidarity with a friend suffering from severe acne. The treatment, bought by one of the boys’ mothers, was light green when applied and turned dark green once dry.
Their selfie, which the boys said was a joke and not a racial insult, went viral in 2020 and many labelled it as depicting blackface. However, on Monday, a Santa Clara County jury sided with the boys’ claims that the school breached oral contract and had a lack of due process in forcing them out. The jury awarded the money and tuition reimbursement to the two former students, the Post reported.
“This case is significant not only for our clients but for its groundbreaking effect on all private high schools in California, which are now legally required to provide fair procedure to students before punishing or expelling them,” said Krista Baughman, one of the attorneys for the students.
“The jury rightly confirmed that Saint Francis High School’s procedures were unfair to our clients and that the school is not above the law,” Ms Baughman added.
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Separately, the family of one of the boys said, “We want to sincerely thank the jury and the court system for helping our boys and our families find justice, which now paves the way for their names to be cleared for things they never did”.
Notably, the lawsuit had initially demanded $20 million. The boys lost on their other claims of breach of contract, free speech violation and defamation.
Representatives for the school, on the other hand, stated that they “respectfully disagree with the jury’s conclusion as to the lesser claim regarding the fairness of our disciplinary review process” and will be “exploring legal options” including appealing the judgement.
