A California teacher was placed on administrative leave after putting on Blackface in an attempt to look like rapper Common for Halloween.
The Milpitas Unified School District school teacher “chose to wear blackface paint and satirically imitate a TV commercial and well known national social activist of the African American community,” according to school board president Chris Norwood.
The Halloween incident was widely criticized by organizations such as the NAACP of Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County Alliance of Black Educators and San Jose African American Community Service Agency, according to Norwood.
A video posted on social media over the weekend shows the teacher standing at the front of a classroom, imitating Common, who is the face of a national advertising campaign for Microsoft’s artificial intelligence technology. The teacher wore a white turtleneck and black jacket just like Common did in the 2018 Microsoft commercial.
“Opportunities limitless, possibilities senseless, what will you do?” the teacher rapped in the video. “Millions of people, not enough to eat, what will we do? With A.I. Microsoft technology, the future — it’s up to you. You can do it. With A.I., the future will blow your mind.”
