An East Bay community is divided after an Antioch teacher was placed on administrative leave over a Halloween costume she wore during a school parade.
The teacher at Sutter Elementary School wore a costume featuring the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine attached to her body, and her face was painted dark to represent the night with a green moon over her head. Some in the community were offended by the teacher's painted face, while others feel the district went too far.
"She didn't mean any harm, and I know her personally, and I don't think she would ever mean any harm in that way," parent Jordyn Papagni said.
The teacher told a school board member she painted her face black to depict the night.
"It was a Scooby-Doo costume, so when I see it I didn't think twice about her trying to make fun or be racist toward Black people," a parent who did not want to be identified told NBC Bay Area. "I just thought it was a costume."
School board member Antonio Hernandez said the concern is warranted and the teacher has been removed from the classroom while the district investigates.
"Regardless of what the costume was -- any black painted face really has such a strong ability to be very offensive, and very harmful to Black communities and communities of color," Hernandez said.
Antioch Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker believes the teacher's costume is a sign of the district's failure to address racial disparity.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
"I get the intent, but the impact really devastated community members in a way where a lot of questions are being asked about who did she consult with before moving forward with what we all saw as blackface," Torres-Walker said. "This incident is just an example of how the district has not addressed issues around culture because this teacher should have absolutely known whether it's harmful or not that blackface is unacceptable."
The controversy has also triggered a flood of comments on social media.
There was no word from the district on Monday how long its investigation will take.
