An Instagram account proclaiming to be created by a group of Madison West High School students raised concerns last week.
The account, claiming to “make [W]est great again by creating societal segregation,” was quickly removed from Instagram after gaining public attention.
Under the handle “madisonwestwhites,” the page featured a profile picture of a white cross surrounded by the words “white pride worldwide.” Four posts were uploaded of white supremacist iconography captioned with various insults and threats leveled against current West High School students prior to its deletion.
Madison West High Principal Karen Boran sent letters to parents Saturday addressing the incident and expressing concern for impacted communities.
“The beliefs and images on this page were hateful, go against everything we believe and are contrary to the environment we create together every day at West,” Boran said. “It is heartbreaking to see our school connected with these vile images and comments on social media.”
In the letter she insisted the account was not created by a group of Madison West High Students as the account claims, rather the incident was much smaller and more isolated according to Boran. The school district is working with Madison Police Department to begin taking further steps, “taking all appropriate steps with those involved.”
”I also want to acknowledge that, while the page was removed from Instagram, we know that one hate-filled page is only a symptom of a deep and deadly prejudice that doesn’t disappear when an Instagram page does,” Boran said. “We know we need to continually combat bigotry for the safety of every single person in our community.”
The page marks the second race-related incident at Madison West High School this year. Security officer Marlon Anderson was fired last month for repeating a racial slur said to him by a student. His firing has since been reversed by the school district after protests.
