Photo courtesy of KION.
Several teenagers at Salinas High School in Salinas, Calif., put their racism on full display by filming themselves stomping a Black doll named “Shaniqua,” according to KION News. The teenagers stomped on the doll’s head and repeatedly posed with the doll on social media.
A video began circulating on Tik Tok and Instagram of the Black doll the teenagers named “Shaniqua” over the weekend of Aug. 20. On an Instagram account called “Shaniqua.shs,” (which has since been deleted), kids could repeatedly be seen stomping on the doll on video.
A picture of the doll in a sexually explicit position is seen as well, and the teenagers also took several pictures posing with the doll, which was altered to have bigger lips. In addition to stomping on the doll, the students allegedly also ran over the doll with a car.
Even worse, some of the school’s teachers and other staff have posed with the doll for pictures, according to Charles Sanders, who was at a football jamboree for the school on Aug. 20, where some of the photographs were taken.
“In some of the videos, there’s faculty and teachers taking pictures and videos with the doll,” he said. “The teacher was holding the doll on the goal post. So it’s infuriating. It’s a lack of teaching, the parents aren’t doing their job, the teachers aren’t doing their job.”
Many students allegedly posed with the doll, not knowing about the racist Instagram page associated with the doll or told that it was for a class project.
Salinas High School released a statement saying the actions of their students were unacceptable and that they would do better.
“It goes without saying, the images and videos taken by several students at Salinas High School, as well as many others from our District high schools, are not only appalling, but they are simply unacceptable,” said the statement in part.
“Although the students involved have stated that anti-black racism was not their intent, the impact of their actions has further highlighted the need for District resources to be aligned to provide more learning opportunities to ensure that all students feel that school is a safe and inclusive place for their learning. At the same time, it is a reminder that the work started over a year ago to emphasize the need to lift up our black students, teachers and parents has only just begun.”
The statement also noted the ages of the racist students as between 15 and 17 and encouraged support and opportunities for them to “grow.” The student responsible for the Instagram page was disciplined, although the school did not say what punishment was.
A petition on Change.org calls for the school to do more regarding racism and has garnered more than 14,000 signatures.