Students accused of blackface win $1m payout from prestigious school after proving it was acne mask

Two students expelled from a leading private school for “blacking up” won a $1 million payout after they proved they were in fact wearing an acne face mask.

A jury in Santa Clara, California, sided with the former students in a lawsuit brought against the Catholic school by their parents. They were awarded $500,000 (£400,000) each and $70,000 (£56,000) in tuition reimbursements.

The two white teenagers, identified in court records as H.H. and A.H, left Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, San Francisco, where yearly fees are in excess of $27,000 (£22,000), after a photo emerged of them from 2017.

The image showed the two boys, who were 14 at the time, and a third white boy who did not attend St Francis, posing in front of a mirror wearing dark green face masks.

The photo went viral in the wake of the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests that followed, amid accusations it was racist.

People interpreted the masks as “blackface”, the process of using make-up to appear black.

The lawsuit claimed the masks were actually face masks used in the treatment of acne.

However, the court heard how other St Francis students and parents believed the photo was a racist joke and pressured the school into taking action against them.

The boys’ lawyers claimed that as a result, the school gave the two students an ultimatum - to either voluntarily withdraw or be expelled.

‘Innocent face masks’

The pair’s lawyer, Krista Baughman, told the San Francisco Chronicle: “Our primary goal was to clear (our clients’) names.

“It was quite clear the jury believed these were innocent face masks. They are young kids, their internet trail is going to haunt them for the next 60 years. Now they don’t have to worry about that.”

The parents initially filed the lawsuit for $20 million (£16 million) but the financial award was lower as the jury cleared the school of three of the five claims - breach of contract, defamation and a violation of free speech.

The school was found guilty of failing to do a proper investigation and breach of an oral contract.

A spokesperson from the school said: “We respectfully disagree with the jury’s conclusion as to the lesser claim regarding the fairness of our disciplinary review process and are exploring legal options, including appeal.”