Forest Hill High School Band Criticized for its Gunfire Scene

A fanfare from a Mississippi high school sparked outrage with a half-time show of SWAT team members being held under gun threat – a week after the death of two policemen in the performance of their duties in a neighboring city.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Several members of the Forest Hill High School group were supposed to play a movie scene, while the rest of the group played at halftime in a match against Brookhaven High School:"data-reactid =" 12 ">Several members of the Forest Hill High School group were supposed to play a movie scene, while the rest of the group played at halftime in a match against Brookhaven High School:

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<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Brookhaven was the city in which two officers were shot dead last week. The timing of the half-time performance led many to criticize the group and to elicit reactions from local officials. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety said in a statement that he was "extremely disturbed"."data-reactid =" 24 ">Brookhaven was the city in which two officers were shot dead last week. The timing of the half-time performance led many to criticize the group and to elicit reactions from local officials. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety said in a statement that he was "extremely disturbed".

The director of the Forest Hill Band would have been put on administrative leave while the school district was investigating the case.

School, the officials answer

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Jackson's public school superintendent, Errick L. Greene, issued a statement Saturday, partly to apologize and explain the show:"data-reactid =" 27 ">Jackson's public school superintendent, Errick L. Greene, issued a statement Saturday, partly to apologize and explain the show:

"On behalf of the Jackson Public School (JPS) District, I want to sincerely apologize for the performance of the Forest Hill High School group at the halftime football show in Brookhaven on Friday. Based on the movie "John Q", the band's performance depicts a hostage scene featuring toy guns.

JPS has a lot of respect and appreciation for its enforcement partners. The group's performance did not reflect the values ​​and members of our community and was incredibly insensitive to students, families, law enforcement and the wider Brookhaven community. For that, we sincerely apologize to everyone and we are committed to doing better in the future.

We have taken some initial steps in response to this case and you agree to conduct a thorough investigation and take appropriate action with respect to procedures and personnel. "

The mayor of Jackson, Miss Chokwe Lumumba, also issued a statement:

"I offer my most sincere regrets to the Brookhaven community for the insensitivity that has been described during the half-time show on Friday night. An investigation is under way into the circumstances that led to this performance. Although I do not believe that there was any malicious intent on the part of the students who participated in this half-time show, I understand that we are ultimately not defined by what we decided to to do, but rather by the way we react to these events. actually place. It is the responsibility of adults to help young people. Our students should have been informed that this was neither the time nor the place for this performance. "

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant called the show "unacceptable" and tweeted that "someone should be held responsible".

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