Student offends staff at school by dressing like Jesus for Halloween
A Highland Park, Ill. high school student was pulled out of class on Halloween after dressing like Jesus. Highland Park senior Marshon Sanders offended some teachers with his costume.
He was readmitted to school after changing. 15 minutes into his first class, Sanders was called into the dean’s office. He was told that his attire was offensive and that he was promoting religion.
Sanders’ costume included a long, white robe, red sash, head scarf and a cross necklace. “I wanted to be Jesus because I just got baptized and so I felt like, why not?” Marshon says of his costume choice. “He’s the most influential person in my life.”
Shortly before dismissing its students for the day, the school released a statement saying that they “initially were concerned that the costume could be offensive to religious sensibilities. Upon further review, we realized the student did not intend to be offensive.”
Sanders was then told that he could put the costume back on, but chose not to do so. His mother Angenetta Frison, wonders if an image of a black Jesus was what made some of the teachers uncomfortable.
Frison said that she also encouraged her son to dress up as someone inspiring and uplifting for the holiday, as opposed to a ghost, or zombie. Sanders notes that other kids were dressed up as Moses and were not told to remove their costumes.
Thoughts on the incident?
Do you think that race played a factor in some faculty members’ discomfort in Sanders’ costume?
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