High School student who posted a racist 'promposal' will not be attending prom or graduation
A high school student in Florida went viral on social media for all the wrong reasons when his "promposal" was received by a high volume of backlash. It has emerged that he will not be going for the prom or for graduation later on in the year.
Over the weekend, 18-year-old Noah Crowley, who is a student at Riverview High School in Sarasota, had asked another student to the prom at their school with a Snapchat. In the photo, Crowley is holding up a sign that reads: "If I was black, I’d be picking cotton, but I’m white so I’m picking u 4 prom?"
The person it was meant for sent the teen a heart-eyed emoji so initially it seemed like he got a YES from his date for the prom. Looks like she is going to have to find another date.
HuffPost released a statement on behalf of Crowley's parents on April 24 afternoon after the high school student said that he will not be going for any of the school activities for the rest of the year.
It reads: "While our son has apologized himself, on behalf of our family, we wish to also express our most sincere apologies for the terrible words used in his 'promposal'."
"We love our son dearly and know that he is a far better person than reflected in this reckless behavior. That said, as loving parents, we also feel compelled to share our own deep regret and serious concern about his actions."
"After numerous familial conversations and lengthy discussions with Riverview High School administrators, we have jointly agreed that our son will not be attending any further school activities or functions, including the Prom or graduation ceremony."
"As a family, we truly recognize this incident is a very difficult but important life lesson and pledge to do all we can to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again. Certainly, we hope that all of the people and communities who were hurt and offended will forgive our son and family."
On April 22, Crowley had taken it upon himself and issued a statement saying that he wanted to "sincerely apologize if I have offended anyone with the picture going around."
He said: "Anyone who knows me or ***** [name redacted] knows that that’s not how we truly feel. It was a completely [sic] joke and it went too far. After reading the texts and Snapchat’s [sic] I truly see how I have offended people and I’m sorry."
According to CBS affiliated channel WTSP, the apology did not do so well with people who called him out on his racism. One of his fellow students posted on Facebook: "Man save that apology ... you meant what you posted!"
The 'promposal' sign that Crowley had made did not sit right with many of his peers in school and received a lot of negative reactions from the students. Anton Kernohan, a fellow senior in the school, told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune that he was "disgusted" by the sign.
Kernohan added: "It shows that racism is still alive and well in our society, and it shows that racism is still alive in my generation, and it is something that we as the youth will have to continue to fight against."