Palos Verdes High School ‘promposal’ spells out racial slur

Palos Verdes High School principal and staff will be meeting with students Wednesday after a “promposal” sparked outrage after a photograph surfaced showing a racial slur highlighted in the message on a poster board.

“Today I will be meeting with all students, class by class,” said Principal Allan Tyner in a statement. “We will review appropriate behavior and how the use of hurtful racial slurs like the one used on this recent picture posted on social media is unacceptable. I know that this one unfortunate event does not represent us as a school community.”

The photograph showed two smiling teens holding a sign, which calls the girl “racist,” that has certain letters highlighted in the request that she go to prom that spell out the N-word.

Palos Verdes High School is scheduled to hold its prom on Saturday.

A mother of a student posted the picture to Twitter Tuesday afternoon, calling on parents to contact the high school’s administration and “condemn this horrific sensibility.”

Several people responded to her tweet, calling the photograph of a smiling boy and girl with the poster board “disgusting” and “terrible.”

Tyner issued a statement Tuesday evening condemning the promposal.

“We were made aware today by some of our students of an invitation that incorporated a slang term for (an) African American and features two of our high school students,” the statement said. “We have been in touch with the identified students and their families to inform them that we are forming a response and anticipate severe consequences.”

Tyner also said the school was investigating to determine who else may have participated in the promposal, including who took the photo.

“Racist words and racist acts have no place in our school community,” Tyner said Wednesday.