Viral video footage of several Utah teenagers wearing prison uniforms and black faces for Halloween has drawn widespread condemnation on social media, with the state’s governor even joining in to criticize their actions.
Cox told The Daily Beast in a statement: “We strongly condemn racism in all its forms and we urge every Utahn to reject stereotypes, slurs and offensive attitudes. so”. “We have to do better.”
The video was originally uploaded to TikTok by @thebrownestsugar, but was later shared by user Karessa Pitcher on Twitter.
“My classmate posted this 2 hours ago, from Walmart in Cedar City, Utah,” Pitcher wrote Tuesday in the now-deleted tweet. “I know what they are like [sic] parents let them get away with this or how can they be so stupid and racist but this is why critical race theory should be the norm in schools. “
The video shows a group of white teenagers standing together in a store. Three of the boys wore the uniform of a gang from the Jim Crow-era prison chain and wore black face. They have black long-sleeved shirts underneath their uniforms, and their hands are also painted black.
In the video, the trio is standing with five other people, including a girl dressed as a police officer with aviator goggles and a pair of handcuffs. The clip begins with the group immediately laughing at the person filming them.
“Do you understand the consequences of what you just did?” group questioner.
Two children standing to the right stared blankly at the camera.
“You won’t get into university. You guys won’t get any scholarships because this is a hate crime.”
“We all dropped out of high school,” said another boy in a brown-striped shirt with a cheeky smirk.
The girl dressed up as a police officer and the boys in prison uniforms then burst out laughing.
“I still don’t think it’s appropriate for you to do this,” the cameraman said.
Someone off-camera tells the group they’re causing a scene and that it’s time for them to leave.
“It’s really not fun,” the cameraman said before the group dispersed.
The clip has caused a wave of reactions online.
“They are sick[;] Racists are taught by racist families to be racists. They have been warned of the consequences, soon after they will pretend to apologize for their racist costumes”, a Twitter users Written.
“Every year a huge number of white kids die, ‘this is the year I ruined my future with a horrible outfit’,” said another. the user tweeted.
“No one in the group stopped and thought? Where are the parents on this? ” one social network users tweeted. “A lot of people miss out here, starting with those who are inappropriately dressed and including all friends and family say nothing.”
“Just when I thought I couldn’t be more disgusted! This is beyond horrifying because they see absolutely nothing wrong with this! ” one who commented below videos on TikTok.
Cox’s public information officer told The Daily Beast the incident is under investigation.
