Baldwin County School Pep Rally Features Racist Signage

BALDWIN COUNTY, AL - A racially insensitive sign made and displayed at a pep rally by a Baldwin County student made its way across social media over the weekend, prompting school officials to launch an investigation. Two female students were pictured holding signs at the rally, with one sign sporting a Trump logo and the "Make America Great Again" slogan, while the other girl held a sign saying, "Put the Panic Back in Hispanic."

The photo, posted on Facebook over the weekend, has drawn criticism and outrage to not only Hispanic residents in the area, but alumni, students and others in the community. (For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Birmingham Patch morning newsletter.)

"We are aware of a photo that appears to be taken at a Robertsdale High School football pep rally Friday, Sept. 15, that is circulating on social media containing political banners and unacceptable language," Baldwin County Superintendent Eddie Tyler said in a statement. "School administrators, as well as my office, are following up on the matter."

According to WKRG in Mobile, the student holding the sign referring to Hispanics has issued an apology via her family's lawyer. She said the sign and its message were taken out of context, and that it was made because Robertsdale High School was playing Spanish Fort High School and the use of "Hispanic" was a play on the opposing team's school name. The student, 19-year-old senior Harley Powell, has deleted all of her social media accounts, but a screenshot of one of her accounts shows her replying, "Put the Panic back in Hispanic. #dontgetButthurt " and adding "I'm honestly not gonna care if you do anyways so!! #sorryboutit."

Coincidentally, Spanish Fort High School, also in the same school system, came under fire after a student complained that her required summer reading list consisted almost entirely of conservative writers such as Ann Coulter and Michael Savage, with titles such as Liberalism is a Mental Disorder and Trickle Up Poverty: Stopping Obama's Attack on Our Borders, Economy, and Security. The list has since been removed.

Robertsdale has the largest percentage of Hispanics of any city in coastal Alabama, with 9.2 percent of the city's 5,990 residents identifying as Hispanic or Latino, according to 2010 U.S. Census data.

Photo courtesy of Facebook