Santa Barbara school district faces protests over racist TikTok incident

Parents, students, and educators protested at a Santa Barbara Unified School District board meeting following a racist TikTok video posted by students at San Marcos High School. The video depicted four students using blackface to mimic an AI-generated image of Black boys and included captions using emojis often used as substitutes for racial slurs.

Critics expressed frustration over the district’s delayed response, noting that it took approximately two weeks for administration to notify families after the incident was reported. Abel Gonzalez, an ethnic studies teacher whose classroom was featured in the background of the post, stated that Black students on campus were reeling from the fallout.

In response to the incident, Black Student Unions from San Marcos and Dos Pueblos high schools organized a walkout to raise awareness about anti-Black racism. Attendees at the board meeting demanded greater transparency and stronger actions from district leadership to address what they described as a pattern of racism within the schools.