Middle school student suspended after wearing eye black at football game, school alleges blackface

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A middle school student in the San Diego area was suspended for two days and banned from school sporting events after he covered his face in eye black at a football game. School administrators alleged the student was in effect using objectionable blackface, but a Free Speech advocacy group defended the student’s act as harmless. 

Key Players

J.A., identified by his initials in public documents for privacy, was an eighth-grade student at Muirlands Middle School in La Jolla, California, at the time of the incident.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is a nonprofit Free Speech advocacy organization based in Philadelphia.

Further Details

Blackface is “dark makeup worn to mimic the appearance of a Black person.” The practice originated in 19th-century minstrel shows, where white performers used burnt cork or shoe polish to paint their faces darker and mimic enslaved Africans on Southern plantations.

Eye black, on the other hand, is a grease or paint used by athletes to reduce glare from the sun or bright stadium lights. Its earliest known use occurred in the 1930s. Today, athletes frequently wear eye black for aesthetic purposes. 

On Oct. 13, 2023, J.A. attended a football game between La Jolla High School and Morse High School. Inspired by those wearing eye black in the stands and images he had seen online, J.A. asked his friend to apply eye black to his face. It covered nearly the entirety of his cheeks.

“My understanding is a lot of people were wearing face paint and he wanted to join in on the fun,” Aaron Terr, FIRE’s director of public advocacy, told the La Jolla Light.

“He had a fun, great night without any trouble,” J.A.’s father said, adding that a Black security guard even told J.A. to add more eye black.

On Oct. 19, J.A. and his parents were called into the office of Principal Jeff Luna. According to J.A.’s father, Luna defended the decision by noting that Morse has a large Black component in its student body. 

Luna gave J.A. a two-day suspension for violating the Muirlands’ hate incidents policy and banned him from attending San Diego Unified School District sporting events for the remainder of the year. Neither Luna nor the suspension report, which lists J.A.’s offense as “Offensive comment, intent to harm,” indicated that anyone complained about J.A.’s face paint at the game, or that it caused any disruption. 

Attorney Karin Sweigart, who specializes in constitutional and Free Speech issues and previously worked on another blackface accusation case, called Muirlands’ actions “constitutionally suspect,” saying there were “serious constitutional problems on what the school did and with California law. [Muirland Middle School is] really not on very solid ground.”

Outcome

FIRE appeals suspension and ban

On Nov. 8, FIRE sent a letter to Luna, defending J.A.’s use of eye black as constitutionally protected expression.

The organization explained that the First Amendment protects nonverbal expressions, such as tattoos and face or body paint. Additionally, in the 1969 case Tinker v. Des Moines, the Supreme Court determined that public school officials may not restrict student speech unless there is evidence that the speech has or will “materially and substantially disrupt the work and discipline of the school.” FIRE argued that there was no such evidence of disruption in J.A.’s case.

“The complete lack of disruption is unsurprising, as the sight of fans in face paint is familiar to and expected by anyone who has ever attended a football game or other sporting event,” the letter states. Terr called the eye black “a harmless display of school spirit at a football game.”

FIRE demanded that Muirlands Middle School remove the suspension from J.A.’s disciplinary record, lift the ban on his attendance at school sports games, and reaffirm its commitment to the First Amendment.

J.A.’s father said he is worried about his son’s future if this accusation remains on his record. “My son’s name needs to be cleared,” he said. “It’s reckless to assume the worst in a child only because he’s white […] With such a serious allegation you would think there would be a thorough investigation of intent from all parties.”

FIRE requested a “substantive response” to its letter by Nov. 22, after which, the organization claimed, J.A.’s family would consider taking legal action against the school.

School district defends decision, FIRE presses on

On Nov. 8, the same day FIRE sent its first letter, the San Diego Unified School District denied J.A.’s request for appeal of his suspension. 

On Nov. 13, FIRE sent a second letter, this time addressed to Superintendent Lamont Jackson, to express its discontent with the decision and asking for confirmation on whether the matter would be reconsidered. 

“The student’s father has said they intend to sue if the district does not reverse its decision,” Terr told the La Jolla Light on Nov. 24. “We plan to confer with the family soon about potential next steps.”

As of Dec. 18, there were no further developments.