Klan-Like Garb Leads to Threats at High School

Rocky Mount, NC — Six students were recently escorted to class at Nash Central High School after a photo of them wearing what some say were Ku Klux Klan-style hoods made the rounds on social media.

The controversial photo first appeared on Instagram when the school was on Thanksgiving break. Parents of the six girls in the photo then notified Nash Central High officials that the girls had been threatened because of it.

An investigation by the Nash County Sheriff’s Office determined that the girls did nothing illegal, and school district officials said they didn’t break any school rules. But that hasn’t eased tensions in the surrounding communities.

“It’s so sad,” said local resident Minnie Johnson when she saw the photo, immediately saying the girls looked like Klan members.

“I was born in the ’60s,” remarked Johnson. “They should have known better,” said Shenna Tucker, a waitress at the Nashville Exchange sandwich shop. “Someone should have taught them better because it is not alright.”

Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone said the photo has “been taken all out of perspective,” saying the girls told his deputies that the photo was taken at a party. “It had nothing to do with the KKK or anything of that nature,” Stone said.

One student said one of the girls in the photo told her the girls were simply making party hats.

Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools Superintendent Anthony Jackson said there have been no disruptions at Nash Central High because of the photo, but the district is working with the Juvenile Mediation Center at Campbell University to engender dialogue between students, parents, and community members about the photo and the reaction it created in the community.

Students who had strong feelings about the photo have also been allowed to discuss the girls’ actions to help ease tensions.