Two local diversity advocates face backlash after accusing the Scottsdale Unified School District of racism for hiring a DJ who allegedly played in blackface, even though the DJ was black.
The two advocates, Stuart Rhoden and Jill Lassen criticized the Hopi Elementary PTA for hiring Kim Koko Hunter, 56, a black DJ, for the fundraising event.
The Arizona Daily Independent reported that Rhoden and Lassen slammed the school for showing a picture of Hunter, only to learn later that he was black.
“The DJ that the Hopi PTA hire[d] was, in fact, a Black man,” Hopi PTA president Megan Livengood told the outlet. “It is insulting that you feel myself or PTA condone racist behavior or encourage it by posting on social media.”
Lassen responded: “You are right. We should’ve reached out and inquired before making such accusations. I cannot fathom the hurt, anger, and frustration you felt after you and others volunteered countless hours at your event. Again I truly apologize.”
However, Rhoden, a teacher at Arizona State University, did not seem sympathetic. He posted a side-by-side image of Hunter to try to demonstrate that the DJ darkened his face despite being black.
“Let me be clear, a black man, apparently in black face, is an entirely different discussion than a White person,” he wrote on Facebook. “However… it seems at the very least he is in darker make-up if not ‘Black face,’ or I am completely mistaken, and it’s the lighting of the patio.”
According to reports, Rhoden serves as a member of the district’s Equity and Inclusion Committee, while Lassen is the co-chair of Scottsdale Parents Council’s diversity, equity and inclusion committee.
Following the event, an organizer called someone Hunter worked with and questioned if he was black.
“They thought that the DJ there or the person there was in a black face, and the person they thought was in the black face was me,” Hunter said.
“Wait a minute, in their defense,” he said to his friend on Facebook Live, “how many chips in the ice cream did you see?”
He said, laughing. “They were probably thinking the same thing I am: Wow, there are no black people here.”
Hunter then mocked the accusation that he was a black man wearing blackface. He said, “Was I not Black enough? How black do I got to be for people to know that I’m an actual Black person.”
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