Catholic school takes up at-home learning after blackface video circulates on social media

The fallout at St. Hubert Catholic High School for Girls in Holmesburg picked up on Wednesday after a racist video, showing students in blackface, circulated on social media the day before. Two parents of former students went public with stories of harassment their children faced at the school in recent years, and the school switched to flexible instruction, with students completing coursework at home, after “reactionary general threats” were made, according to administrators.

At the advice of the Philadelphia Police Department, St. Hubert’s also canceled extracurricular activities on campus for the remainder of the week.

The video at the heart of the backlash shows several white teen girls, with one spray-painting the face of another with a dark color and yelling “Know your roots!” and “It’s February!” and “You’re nothing but a slave.”

The girl with the blackface then declares: “I’m Black and I’m proud!” Other girls present laugh throughout the video.

In a Facebook post Tuesday, leaders of St. Hubert said they were aware of the video and were investigating.

“All those responsible will be disciplined appropriately in accordance with our school handbook,” they said.

By Wednesday, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia said the two St. Hubert students allegedly responsible for the video “are not present in school and are being disciplined appropriately,” though they would not offer specifics. They also said one of the girls is from a non-Catholic high school in Philadelphia.

Protesters at St. Hubert’s on Wednesday morning said the video wasn’t an outlier. At least two parents in attendance said their children, who were formerly enrolled in the school, faced a hostile and unwelcoming climate because they were Black. Both parents said they withdrew their child after the harassment became too much to bear.

Lamar Martin, who is Black, signed up to be a track coach when his daughter enrolled in the school as a freshman. Martin said he encountered racial tensions as a staffer and believes that strain led to the school not renewing his contract over the summer. His daughter asked to be pulled out of the school in November.

“She felt as though there was other racist issues in the school and every time she tried to voice her opinion — like she actually went to the president, went to the principal — they did absolutely nothing about it,” Martin said.

Nikole Hines said her daughter felt so singled out for being Black, the pair reached out to the archdiocese with their complaints, which detailed how a fellow student had used a racial slur against her, among other anecdotes. Hines said nothing came of the exchange with the archdiocese, so she withdrew her daughter before the start of her senior year in summer 2020.

“I was paying for my child to get harassed and bullied and it’s not OK,” Hines said. “They promote love and acceptance, but my child didn’t feel none of that in the three years she was there.”

St. Hubert’s has directed all media inquiries to the archdiocese. Spokesperson Ken Gavin said the archdiocese was not familiar with the two parents’ cases. The archdiocese released a statement condemning the recent social media posts.

“Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia seek to form young men and women of character,” Gavin said. “We view racism as a mortal sin. There is no place for it in our hearts and minds and there is no tolerance for such behavior at Saint Hubert’s or any Catholic School.”

Gavin said St. Hubert’s had already been working closely with the Anti-Defamation League in an effort to earn a “No Place for Hate” designation. He said that while no specific incident prompted the partnership, the school is turning to the ADL for additional support in response to the video. The school is also seeking resources from the Archbishop’s Commission on Racial Healing and will offer counseling services to any student at St. Hubert’s who wants them.

Those protesting said they viewed the statements as weak and demanded the archdiocese do more to address larger issues at the school. Hines told other Black parents that until more is done to address the climate Black students face, they should pull their children from the school.

A student-led demonstration is slated to take place at the school Friday.

Staff photographer Alejandro A. Alvarez contributed to this article.