A group held a press conference this afternoon regarding photos of white Gardendale students posting photos of themselves in blackface - imitating African Americans - on social media sites.

The father of one of the girls in the photos said that the photo was taken six months ago by his daughter and a friend while using a charcoal beauty treatment and did not have any racial text or messages with it. The photo was copied by someone and put up on the website with racially charged text, he said.

The photos, from posts on Facebook and Snapchat, began circulating Tuesday just as majority white Gardendale outside Birmingham is trying to form its own school system. The judge over the 52-year-old desegregation lawsuit has said she found racist motives in the effort to form the school system and keep out minorities.

Nez Calhoun, spokeswoman for Jefferson County schools, confirmed that the four names identified in the Facebook photos in blackface are in Gardendale. One social media post, however, identifies a girl and boy in blackface as being from Mortimer Jordan High School near Gardendale.

Outcast Voters League, a group representing the interests of black residents, held a press conference today at Gardendale High School addressing the allegations. "It is alleged, with photos attached, they went further to write "n....s" on their Snapchat. These types of actions aren't tolerated within the Jefferson County School System. To expand, these actions should be investigated as hate crimes," according to a press release from the group.

Neal Underwood, the parent of one of the girls and a Jefferson County school system employee, said that his daughter and another girl took a photo after applying a charcoal beauty treatment. The photo did not include any text of a racial nature, he said.

Someone then recently took the photo off a social media site - not Facebook - and placed it on Facebook with racial comments, Underwood said. "The folks who know the hearts of these young ladies" know they wouldn't do such a racially insensitive thing, he said.

"These two girls don't have a malice bone in their bodies," Underwood said.

Underwood said that since the photos came out in the past few days his daughter has received death threats and was taken off the Gardendale High School dance team.

Gardendale has been trying to split from the Jefferson County school system.

Despite finding that there were racial motives behind the move to form its own school system, U.S. District Judge Madeline Haikala granted Gardendale's request to split from Jefferson County over a three-year period.

But the judge attached some strings, including that the school system pay the county for Gardendale High School, which cost Jefferson County $55 million to build seven years ago. She also ordered that the city form a desegregation plan and add a black resident to its school board.

Haikala ordered that Gardendale could start operating the two county elementary schools in its city limits beginning June 1 and three years later could take over the middle and high schools if the city system met her requirements.

Gardendale and black plaintiffs this week both appealed her order and asked her to stay her order allowing the city to operate the elementary schools.

The group also plans to address their meeting with with Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Craig Pouncey this past Monday concerning Hueytown High School's Principal who was arrested last Tuesday for obstruction of justice for not reporting sexual misconduct at the school.

As of today, the principal had not been placed on administrative leave, the group said.

"We owe it to our students to work in their best interest. If the leadership isn't to be trusted, we have no one else to turn to. What is happening throughout this school system is a disgrace to the education system. The culture or sexual abuse, misconduct and racism will not be tolerated in this school system," said President of the Outcast Voters League Frank Matthews.

Matthews spoke about the Gardendale incident outside the school this afternoon, along with activist Carlos Chaverst Jr. Matthews said the pictures show a "culture of racism" within Gardendale High School.

"These children have a disease," he said. Matthews called blackface and the teens' language "learned behaviors" and said the students, along with their parents, should attend counseling. "Any God-fearing person should be upset," he said.

Matthews and Chaverst said if Pouncey does not act on the Gardendale situation or on the "culture of pedophilia" they say exists within the school system, Pouncey should be fired.

"We want it to stop now. N-O-W, now," Matthews said. "We don't play strike three with our children."

Updated on May 24 at 12:15 p.m. with comments by a parent and at 1:10 p.m. with comments from a press conference.

AL.com reporter Ivana Hrynkiw contributed to this report.