JACKSON - A group of students on Monday protested against their classmates, Jackson Liberty High School seniors who staged a controversial photo shoot featuring a racial slur spelled out on T-shirts.

The protesting students locked arms and demanded school administrators take action against the 16 students who spelled out "WE R ALL NI**AS" while standing side-by-side.

RELATED: Jackson Liberty students pose for offensive photo

Jackson Liberty parents also met with administrators on Monday and expressed concerns that no teacher or administrator stopped the photo from occurring – or disciplined the students wearing the shirts.

“Even if the kids didn’t know any better – which I highly doubt – the administration needs to be held more accountable,” one parent told the Press. “They saw these kids walking around with these shirts all day. Someone saw this about to happen and no one said, ‘Maybe it’s not a good idea.”

In a letter to parents on Monday, school Principal Maureen Butler explained that senior students on Friday took a class photograph on the football field, with some students wearing shirts that spelled out the school name and the senior motto: "We are invincible."

After the class photo, a few of those students rearranged themselves and the offensive photograph was taken, Butler said.

On Monday, administrators spoke to students about "how words and actions can be perceived and the consequences that can result from them.

"That is a large part of what we focused on today — talking about how, regardless of what your intentions are, using racially divisive words is offensive and is never acceptable," Butler said.

One of the students told the Press that the original photograph was intended to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

“They have to understand that’s not an excuse,” another parent said. “At 16 years old, at 17 years old, they made a decision when they used that word. They could have used anything else to express unity.”

The two parents of Jackson students spoke to the Press about the protest on the condition of anonymity, as they were concerned about retaliation.

On Saturday, district spokeswoman Allison Erwin said the "thoughts and reactions that stem from this incident will all be considered and addressed within our school community."



Mike Davis: 732-643-4223; mdavis@gannettnj.com