"Don't Shake Hands with My Daughter" Black Superintendent Faces White Dad at Graduation Ceremony

'Racial Discrimination Incident' Sparks Uproar in Local Community
Police Transfer... Prosecuted for Disturbing the Peace

At a high school graduation ceremony in the United States, a white father stormed the stage and pushed aside a Black superintendent who was about to shake hands with his daughter, sparking outrage in the local community over a racially discriminatory incident.

A white man is pulling a Black superintendent off the podium. [Image source=Capture from X (formerly Twitter)]

On the 5th (local time), foreign media including the New York Post reported that the incident occurred on the 31st of last month at Baraboo High School in Wisconsin, USA. At the time, the graduation ceremony was underway in the school's auditorium. Students wearing graduation caps and gowns took turns ascending the stage. After receiving their diplomas, the students shook hands in sequence with six school officials, including the school board chair, principal, and superintendent, before stepping down from the stage.

The problematic situation occurred during the turn of a blonde white female student. Her father stormed the stage and pushed aside the Black superintendent who was about to shake hands with his daughter. The father said, "She's my daughter," and "I don't want my daughter to shake hands with you." The daughter appeared momentarily stunned by her father's actions before stepping down from the stage. Other students watching the scene jeered, and when the father was eventually escorted off the stage by school officials, cheers erupted.

A white man is pulling a Black superintendent off the podium. [Image source=Capture from X (formerly Twitter)]

The exact reason why the father pushed the superintendent has not been revealed, but online claims have emerged labeling it a 'racial discrimination incident' due to the perpetrator being white and the victim Black. Among the six school officials on stage at the time, the superintendent was the only Black person.

The father was handed over to the police and charged with disturbing the peace. The Baraboo Police stated, "We have issued an order to the man not to contact Bricks, and to protect the daughter's identity, we will not disclose the man's name." As the controversy grew, the Baraboo School District also released a statement saying, "His (the white man who pushed Bricks) brazen behavior in front of hundreds of students and other adults is unacceptable," and "We are actively investigating this incident." Francesca Hong, a Korean-American member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, also criticized the incident, saying, "No one should have to endure such racial discrimination."

Netizens who saw the incident responded with comments such as, "I can't believe there are still people who think they are superior because of their skin color," "I don't understand how someone can behave like that at their daughter's graduation," "I feel sorry for the daughter who has a racially discriminatory parent," and "How embarrassed the daughter must have been at that moment." Additionally, the high school was previously embroiled in controversy in 2018 when photos surfaced of students giving Nazi salutes during a graduation party photo shoot.