A daycare in Miami, Florida is being chastised for allegedly painting children in blackface in honor of Black History Month. Courtney Politis, a local African American mother, is one of numerous parents who are outraged by the racially charged episode.
“You should know better as a certified, established institution. “I mean, ignorance about — about racism in 2023, in my perspective, is no longer ignorant,” Politis, whose children attended Studio Kids Little River at the time, told CNN.
On February 3, a daycare teacher allegedly sent images of pupils dressed in blackface on the school’s messaging app for parents to see. It has the slogan “Black History Month.”
Politis’ children were not in the class when the incident occurred, but she did receive a screenshot of the unsettling photographs from another parent. According to reports, the teacher made the students dress up as various vocations and then painted their faces in brown paint.
Out of anger and disbelief, Politis said she immediately reached out to the daycare’s owner, Patricia Vitale, to say that the incident was racist. But Vitale allegedly didn’t understand what she meant at first and asked, “What is racist?”
Vitale eventually sent out a statement to all the parents on that same day, saying, “We have not intended to upset anyone, and we are sorry about any inconvenience. Parents who know us realize that our institution has never had a poor aim. This was a planned activity for this month.”
A few days later, Vitale informed the parents that in response to the incident, the instructors and staff will undertake a variety of ethical training. She also apologized and promised to never do it again.
Politis, on the other hand, stated that she is still upset and has decided to withdraw her two children from the daycare.
“The bottom line is we can’t trust them with our children all apologies aside,” Politis said. “I thought we would have more time before these sorts of things or racism or microaggressions would have to be experienced by our children. So the fact that you can’t, I feel like I can’t protect my children from what’s happening is probably the most disappointing and upsetting of all of this.”