According to the New York Daily News, at the New Hartford Festival of the Arts, an advertisement for a fake cereal called “Monkey Premium” was displayed. Alongside a picture of NBA superstar LeBron James going up for a dunk, the tag line “Eat Monkeys, Jump Like Monkeys!” was featured.
Being a Black person in America is akin to walking a tightrope. Even though you know the threat of falling is always there, you have to just keep moving forward. While you try to prepare yourself for the racism that’s going to pop up and knock you to the ground, you never truly know when it’s going to happen.
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On Saturday, that moment came for Black residents of the New Hartford Central School District in upstate New York, when they were hit with a heavy dose of America’s uniquely cruel racism.
The fictional product displayed is a chocolate and banana flavored cereal that has monkey and banana shaped pieces. In the body of the ad, it promises that it “makes you jump 2-5 inches higher for about 2 hours after eaten.”
Take a moment and let all that sink in: A student art project used the image of one of the most famous athletes in the world to portray one of the oldest racist stereotypes against Black people. If you’ve ever been involved in an art show connected to a school district or held on school grounds, either as a parent or participant, you know how strict schools usually are on what art can be included. This begs the question of how an image that is so openly racist—there’s so subtlety here—made it past various teachers, administrators and parents to be displayed to the public?
On Monday, Superintendent of Schools Cosimo Tangorra Jr. released a statement addressing the controversy, noting that officials are investigating how this happened.
“It is disheartening that racist work was not only created, but then overlooked and allowed to be displayed,” Tangorra said in the statement.
The superintendent also stated that due to privacy concerns the student who created the artwork couldn’t be publicly identified, nor could it be confirmed if they were disciplined for their actions.
“The student involved has been contacted, but due to student privacy, we cannot divulge specific details regarding the student and whether or not there were disciplinary consequences,” Tangorra continued. “Administrators have also spoken with staff members responsible for the oversight of the artwork, and we are using this as a teachable moment.”
Once you get past your “teachable moment,” how are the Black students and families in your district supposed to feel about the fact that not only was this art created on your watch, it somehow made it through the entire process and was displayed to the community? How can they feel safe when it’s clear no one was standing up for them or protecting them?
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