Grand Prairie school district criticized for apologizing for ‘Chucks and pearls’ photo
Grand Prairie Independent School District explained why it issued an apology to staff after a photo ran in the school’s newsletter of teachers wearing “Chucks and pearls” in honor of Vice President Kamala Harris.
The district received complaints about running the photo in a newsletter, and then faced backlash on social media over its apology for the photo.
On Jan. 20, the internal daily newsletter featured a photo of teachers at Andrew Jackson Middle School wearing the Chuck Taylor shoes and pearl necklace that have become iconic staples in Harris’ wardrobe.
“Jackson teachers wear their Chucks and pearls today in honor of the first female Vice-President,” the caption read.
The next day, the district’s public information officer wrote an apology in the newsletter about the photo. The note said the photo “was intended to celebrate a historic accomplishment.”
“While we did not mean for the photo to be a political statement, in a larger sense it was and that goes against the direction given to all staff to remain apolitical,” the statement said. “We apologize for our error in judgment.”
The district faced backlash on social media following the apology. Dallas Black, a local entertainment company, posted about the situation on its Facebook page.
“So you can’t celebrate historical moments now,” the post said.
On Friday, two days after the photo was first posted, Superintendent Linda Ellis issued a statement about the situation, saying the photo’s inclusion in the newsletter “sparked discussion and disappointment.”
“History was made Wednesday when the first female ever was sworn in as the Vice President of the United States,” the statement, sent out to district staff, said. “This historical event is worthy of celebrating, and individuals in our organization recognized history in a variety of ways.”
However, Ellis said “while teaching, it is critical that we remain politically neutral.”
“Where the conflict arose is when we put a picture in the daily message that some staff construed as political,” she wrote. “Their question became ‘can we wear our political apparel and have our picture in the message?’ More controversy exists where some staff feel central office staff violated political neutrality when the photo was shared. The picture was intended to celebrate a history making day.”
Ellis clarified that the apology posted the day after the photo “was not intended to take away from history or from the picture,” but rather to apologize for the impression that some staff did not follow political neutrality when they chose to include the photo.
This story was originally published January 25, 2021 at 3:39 PM.
