A Texas principal is facing heavy criticism and has been forced to issue an apology after complaining that Black students came to the school’s “’90s Throwback Day” looking like “Dr. Dre from the ’90s.”
Anthony LiVechhi, Principal Oak Ridge High School in Houston was caught on video making the comments and allegedly was heard to say the students “looked like criminals.”
“It’s embarrassing. It’s frustrating. We have people posing for pictures looking like they’re Dr. Dre from the ’90s. I’m not sure that’s the look we’re going for. It doesn’t make our school look good,” LiVechhi said in the recording, featured in the clip below.
The students were rightly upset at their principal’s comments and spoke to the station.
“(It’s) kind of downplaying on the way my mom and dad dressed when they were in school,” senior Nekia Baker told KPRC 2.
“The analogy of comparing us to Dr. Dre was used to bring us down and to degrade the way we were dressing and to degrade our school spirit and our 90s day,” junior Nia Dixon said.
One of the school’s athletes, student Trinidad Robinson, told the station:
“I run track. I have some records for the school, and when we were walking by, he said y’all look like criminals. I’m like, how is us dressing and expressing predominantly ’90s and 2000s Black culture equated to being a criminal?”
On Monday, concerned parents held a meeting with school officials supported by activist Quanell X. Roughly 100 students also attended, kneeling in solidarity. LiVecchi issued an apology during the meeting, “I love you all. That’s not how you need to be treated. It won’t happen again.”
There were claims from students of racist remarks and terrorist threats made in person and on social media while the meeting was taking place. Quanell X said that law enforcement is investigating and wants legal action to be taken against those involved.
“Those young children have a victory today because that principal did go before them and apologize for what he said and how he handled the situation,” he said.
The principal made his disparaging comments on the same day Dr. Dre was announced as one of the Super Bowl 2022 Half Time Show performers.
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