Last week, a high school in the US state of Massachusetts had its junior prom party shut down by local authorities after racial slurs were shouted by a number of students.
According to sources in the Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School, students yelled the N-word while singing along with a song that mentioned it, causing the principal, Bryan Menegoni to decide an early end to the event.
School officials explained that even though the racial slur was only shouted by a number of students, other students were upset as a result and explained their feelings to organizers.
Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School's junior prom ended early on April 28. Students heard yelling the racial slur during a song, school officials said. Police have also been called into the investigation.
— Reddit News (@news__reddit) May 8, 2022
Local press reported that the song that had triggered the use of the slur was Caroline by the artist Aminé, an African American rapper, a choice that has since been questioned by school officials. However, the DJ in charge of the music during the prom party explained that the song was a common radio-appropriate one.
School administrators had then decided to end the event and started an immediate investigation in cooperation with the local police in Wenham, Massachusetts.
An incident involving one or more students yelling a racial slur… shutting down the junior prom last week for Hamilton-Wenham Regional High.
— Sam Bleiweis (@SamBleiweisTV) May 5, 2022
On @7News at 5 & 6 — why the superintendent says 2 investigations are ongoing & what the conversation has been like at school this week. pic.twitter.com/ZY5it2fEMV
The use of racial slurs, particularly the N-word, is not illegal in the US. However, it has been widely frowned upon in social and formal settings, given the historical context referring to decades of slavery in the United States.
