A white elementary school teacher in Alabama apologized on Monday for wearing blackface to dress up as rap artist Kanye West for a Halloween party, according to CBS affiliate WHNT.
Heath Morrow, a fifth grade teacher in Decatur City Schools, dressed up in blackface and posed with a “Kanye for Prez 2020” sign in a photograph published online. The real West had announced at the Video Music Awards that he would run for President in 2020.
Morrow’s wife, Shannon, dressed up as the rapper’s wife, Kim Kardashian, and posted the photograph to Facebook, according to al.com.
The photograph was posted with the caption, “Haha some people thought Heath was really a black man,” according to the website’s report. It has since been deleted.
In his apology, Morrow said that he decided on his costume “based on celebrities and the political climate today.”
Morrow’s statement was read Monday morning by the school district’s superintendent in a news conference. The superintendent also said the incident was under investigation, but would not comment on Morrow’s employment status.
“I would like to first apologize for my error in judgement, but my intentions were not malicious or directed toward any certain group of people,” Morrow said in his statement, according to the TV station. “I would also like to say that everyone who knows my character and knows my heart, knows that I have never seen color in my life.”
David Kumbroch, a WHNT reporter tweeted the full apology:
Apology from Decatur teacher who took picture dressed in blackface as Kanye West for private Halloween party. @whnt pic.twitter.com/2H7LkIRMBQ
— David Kumbroch WHNT (@davidknews) October 26, 2015
