KKK costumes create furor
Posted By Elisabeth Johns
Updated 6 days ago
When Grade 12 student Mira Tshilombo walked into school Wednesday morning, she wasn't surprised to see many people dressed up in varied costumes since it was, after all, Halloween.
What shocked the Cornwall Collegiate and Vocational School student was that she saw at least three of her fellow peers, all of them of First Nations descent, dressed up in the Ku Klux Klan white robes, pointed hoods and carrying around a noose in the main foyer of the building.
"I asked someone, '(Are they) seriously wearing that?' " said Tshilombo, who is black.
She approached one of the girls who was wearing the controversial costume and asked her why she chose to put on that garb.
The girl told her she was not trying to be offensive, Tshilombo said. "They said they were just doing it to make fun of the KKK."
She said there was no doubt these were costumes of the hate-inciting group - the white robes even had a KKK logo on the chest.
She spoke to the vice-principal who she said initially told her it was simply a Halloween costume.
"He said I shouldn't take it personally. It's a joke. It's not a joke. He said there are people dressed up like the grim reaper. How can you compare the grim reaper to racism?," she contended.
"It's like going to a Jewish school dressed up like Nazis and expecting them not to be offended."
When asked by the Standard-Freeholder about the choice of costume, one of the young girls replied she got the idea from her aunt, who wore the garb to a Halloween party.
As the reporter attempted to speak to the students, one was heard saying: "Holy big deal over a costume."
Holy big deal over a costume...
