A high school play, in which three students wore Ku Klux Klan costumes, angered many parents at a local Arizona prep school.
The controversial costumes were for certain characters in the Arizona State University Preparatory Academy’s production of the popular play, “The Foreigner.” The school’s rendition of the comedic play was performed at an all-student assembly. Parents were not given prior notification.
The Klansmen are part of the production, but, from what many parents were saying, the shock was that the school’s drama department elected to show the characterization in “full KKK regalia.” Parents felt that the message could have been conveyed without the costumes.
One parent, who wished to remain anonymous, stated: “Three students dressed as the KKK walked down the middle of the assembly as part of a play. They were in hooded robes.”
“We can talk about racial prejudice, we can talk about the insensitivity, but to have our children put on the robes and assume the characters, it’s wrong…There is no justification for it,” the parent continued.
Another parent said it was not as big of a deal to him since his son is Hispanic and he said most of the school is Hispanic. According to public data, 75 percent of the student body at ASU Prep is Hispanic, 11 percent are white and 9 percent are African American.
A spokesperson for ASU Preparatory Academy issued the following statement:
“Last Friday, high school students in a drama class at ASU Preparatory Academy in downtown Phoenix staged a production of noted American playwright Larry Shue’s “The Foreigner.” The presentation of the play was done during the capstone period of the school day. Students in the class read several plays early in the fall and chose to perform ‘The Foreigner.’ The play portrays an image of members of Klansmen in a brief scene toward the end in which they are made fun of and driven away.
“We apologize if anyone was caught by surprise with the appearance of these characters. We are confident that a fair reading of the text of the play, and a fair interpretation of the intentions of students who performed it, reveals no endorsement of bigotry.”
“The Foreigner” is a two-act comedy by American playwright Larry Shue. It’s often redone by both amateur and professional theatre troupes. Its premise addresses racism and how its relevance has never gone away.
It’s understandable that parents would be upset seeing the production without context. The school did have a responsibility to inform parents about the subject matter of the play as well as the characters who were being portrayed.
This play has been banned by certain schools because of its racial undertones. There is a growing movement to ban certain books, plays and other pieces due to the overt racism and prejudice in the pieces. Those elements are embedded in the tapestry of this nation and should not be swept under the rug. The only way to change the future is to consistently and honestly acknowledge the past — no matter how painful it may be.
Reader Question: Do you feel productions like this should be banned in schools Why or why not
