Kaila White, and Richard Ruelas

The Arizona Republic

The protest at Desert Vista High School already was underway when she arrived, her mother clutching her arm, accompanied by the minister who had organized the event.

She stood quietly for a while. Then the girl nudged her way to the center of a tightly knit group of at least 50 people who had come to protest a racial slur in a Snapchat photo that drew national attention.

And then she spoke.

"I have come here to say that I know people have been offended from what I did, and I’ve come here to say I am incredibly, incredibly sorry," she said. "I have love for everyone in my heart. I am not a racist, and I am asking everyone for forgiveness."

Ripple effects of racial slur T-shirts at Desert Vista High in Phoenix continue

Rachel Steigerwald is the "R" in the photo that has sparked outrage across the country.

Her father, John, had agreed for her to speak at a protest organized by the Rev. Jarrett Maupin on Monday afternoon outside of the Phoenix-area school. Maupin had contacted all six students and their families through letters and social media.

The Steigerwalds answered.

Her comments came at the end of a long, emotional day at the high school, where students, faculty and administrators tried to move forward after the image went viral on social media. As hundreds of other seniors took to the bleachers to pose for the senior photo on Friday, six girls rearranged themselves to spell, using two asterisks, the N-word.

Monday included a sensitivity project initiated by the principal, a cultural-awareness program and countless conversations between students.

After school ended, protesters geared up outside, many holding posters depicting the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and “#confrontracism.” At the same time, several White men drove by, honking and yelling profanities at the crowd.

As Rachel spoke, Phoenix police detectives stood nearby.

Soon after she finished, some protesters thanked Rachel and others questioned her intent. Emotions escalated and she, her family and Maupin left.

“Sometimes we have to make that first call, even when we’re not ready to forgive yet,” Maupin said as he walked away. “Intelligent people will accept the apology ... and understand that forgiveness doesn’t mean that it’s all better.”

Roberts: Protests? Death threats? How much punishment is enough for Desert Vista girls?

A fleeting photo that captured the country

The photo, originally posted to Snapchat where it's designed to disappear after 24 hours, has held the nation's attention on social media, bringing unwanted notoriety to the girls and their suburban school.

It comes against a backdrop of heightened racial sensitivities in communities across the country over the past few years, from Ferguson, Mo., to Charleston, S.C., to Chicago. Many of those friction points involve police relations, but others involve racially charged incidents on college campuses.

A petition on change.org asking for the girls to be expelled and for the principal, Christine Barela, to resign has collected more than 39,000 signatures.

Photo of Desert Vista High School seniors spelling out racial slur goes viral

Maupin said he is working with civil-rights attorney Benjamin Taylor to "present a joint letter to the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, demanding an investigation and federal oversight for the Tempe Union High School District until Black students can be guaranteed a racism-free learning environment,” according to a statement Maupin issued Friday.

"This act of intentional racism is inexcusable," Maupin said in the release. "Black students have been complaining about racial hostility directed towards them on this campus for some time."

The school's reaction

School administrators and student leaders held a news conference Monday afternoon and emphasized that the incident was unacceptable.

"There is no place whatsoever for any type of racial slur or racial prejudice," said Tempe Union Superintendent Kenneth R. Baca. "Most importantly, we want to insure this never happens again," he said. "I am not naive enough to think this is a passing fad."

School officials would not comment on what type of punishment the girls have or would receive.

Alyssa Stiggers, president of the school's Black Student Union, said people should not point fingers but instead ask themselves why this photo could be taken at all.

"What's going on in the culture of American people that this was able to happen?" she asked. She said the student group is proposing a "spread the word to end the N-word" campaign on campus.

A one-on-one apology

When Toni Davis, an 18-year-old DVHS senior, saw many of her friends in the photo Friday afternoon, she texted one of them, asking, "So, are you racist now?"

"She apologized and said, 'It was a joke that went bad; I never should have done that.' And I agreed with her; I thought that was dumb," Davis said.

What reportedly had been meant as a joke for one of the girls' boyfriend, who is Black, now was all over Twitter.

"I don’t think you should ever use an excuse to say a racial slur ever," Davis said about the justification.

'The kids at this school are really privileged'

Davis and Tatum Brimley, both DVHS seniors and varsity basketball players, are Black. They said they've each received one apology and silence from the rest, and believe that White students on campus have become more cautious around them.

"Most of the time we’re 'accepted' ... And we have a close-knit family in our sport. But there are some times it feels a little bit like… the kids at this school are really privileged," Brimley said.

"They don’t think they have to face the consequences, which is why this has to happen," Brimley said as she gestured to the protest surrounding her.

Davis said, "I feel like they're too comfortable sometimes."

On Monday, many students posted on Twitter about skipping school, some expressing fear and others capitalizing on the opportunity.

A Whiter, wealthier school than most

The racial makeup of the school could have been a factor in the incident. Desert Vista, which is in the Ahwatukee Foothills neighborhood of Phoenix, has a larger White student population than many comparable Phoenix high schools.

Desert Vista is 66 percent White and 7 percent Black, according to U.S. News & World Report.

By comparison, nearby Mountain Pointe High School is 46 percent White and 16 percent Black. Central High School in midtown Phoenix is 8 percent White and 10 percent Black.

It's also an affluent area. The median household income in the school's zip code, 85048, was $95,628 in 2014, according to federal statistics. By comparison, the national median is $53,482.

Inside the school: Gossip, healing

Georgianna Miller, a DVHS senior, said principal Barela addressed the school’s 3,100 students over the intercom Monday morning.

“We had kind of a group building activity,” she said in a message on Twitter. “We wrote down self-reflections, and the whole class turned in a paper together on what we feel happened on Friday. Then we wrote suggestions on what we think will help bring the school closer together on pieces of paper that will be chained together and put around the school.”

The school modified its schedule to allow for such activities and also provided guidance counselors to talk with students, according to a letter from Barela.

Desert Vista previously had scheduled a sensitivity workshop for Monday called Challenge Day, although participation was limited to 100 students, said Jill Hanks, executive director of community relations for Tempe Union High School District. Although it is in Phoenix, Desert Vista is a Tempe Union school.

Challenge Day is daylong program that “provides teens and adults with tools to tear down the walls of separation, and inspires participants to live, study, and work in an encouraging environment of acceptance, love, and respect,” according to its website.

Students: This 'does not reflect' us

Some students and staff have posted comments supporting diversity and understanding.

“The incident that occurred today at Desert Vista High School does not reflect the beliefs of the student body,” the Desert Vista Black Student Union posted Friday, along with a photo of more than 50 students posing with a sign that says “#thunderstrong.”

Tony Darden, Desert Vista’s boys basketball coach, posted a photo with team members captioned, “Proud of the way these young men handled the situation yesterday. #talkitout #brothers #diversity #thunderstrong”

Republic reporter Kaila White is a Desert Vista High School graduate.