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An Iowa teacher is being investigated for wearing blackface to a Halloween party at the “Boos Bash” at the Walcott American Legion on Friday, October 19.
Walcott Elementary teacher Megan Luloff was part of a group dressed as characters from the movie “Napolean Dynamite.” Luloff dressed as LaFawnduh, a character who is black.
She declined to comment, according to The Courier.
What Happened?
Megan Luloff was seen posing for photos wearing dark makeup that made her appear to look African-American at the party on October 19. Luloff covered her face, hands, arms and feet with the blackface for her Halloween costume.
She was seen wearing a leopard print blouse, white pants and heels to the party held at the Walcott American Legion.
The wig she wore was also very similar to LaFawnduh’s hairstyle in the 2004 movie “Napolean Dynamite.”
“The wearing of blackface is never appropriate in any circumstance by any person,” Superintendent Art Tate told The Courier in an email. “This issue is under investigation by the district.”
Betty Andrews with the Iowa-Nebraska NAACP Conference of Branches told the Daily Mail that for several African-Americans, “depictions like these deliver messages of fear and trauma.” She said Luloff’s actions remind of another movie “Birth of Nation,” “In which black people are criminalized, humiliated, and lynched.”
The district is under state supervision because a disproportionate number of minority students have been identified for special education and subject to disciplinary actions. Sandy Schmitz, the implementation adviser assigned to Davenport schools by the state Department of Education, said that there is “data to suggest they’re just treated differently in several areas.”
Linda Hayes, vice president for the board and a liaison for the district’s disproportionality initiatives, said: “I cannot clearly articulate how offensive and appalling it is to people of color. In light of our recent developments within the district, this was in very poor taste, not to mention totally out of line with regard to professionalism.”
According to The Root, the school district issued a statement that said: “The district was very recently made aware of these images of a district employee at a non-school related event, and an internal investigation is currently ongoing. The board does not condone the insensitivity these images depict and is very disappointed something like is now connected to our school community.”
Who Is Megan Luloff?
Megan Luloff, 32, is a first-grade teacher at Walcott Elementary School in Walcott, Iowa.
Luloff was reportedly showed up to the Walcott American Legion’s “Boos Bash,” a Halloween party for the Grown & Stupid, wearing blackface.
According to the Daily Mail, her school photo on Walcott Elementary School’s staff page has also been removed. She also declined to comment on the incident.