A white student at Commack High School says he was sent home for dressing up as a black Aunt Jemima for Halloween.
Dean Jeziorkowski says administrators at Commack High told him the outfit was racially insensitive, and told him he had to either scrub off his black makeup or go home.
The 17-year-old says he didn’t consider the costume offensive. He says he has been dressing up as female characters every Halloween since the third grade.
In past years he has appeared as Pocahontas and Wilma Flintstone.
The Aunt Jemima character is used by the Quaker Oats company to advertise pancake mix and syrup. Some find the character offensive because of its use during the late 19th and early 20th Centuries as a racist stereotype.
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