How Did a Racial Slur End Up in a California Elementary School’s Yearbook? Parents Want Justice

An Oakland elementary school is under fire after a racial slur was printed in its official yearbook, leaving parents outraged and a community demanding answers.

The offensive term appeared beneath a student's portrait in the yearbook for Cleveland Elementary School, reported ABC 7.

Shockingly, the slur went to print without being flagged during the approval process.

The section in question contained several historical articles about the school, one of which was from 1940, where a school carnival photo contained the N-word.

"Boy and Girl Scouts will have charge of booths and many attractions such as n----- babies," the article read, per ABC 7.

The outlet was able to obtain an original photo showing White contestants throwing objects at a Black boy.

Parents reportedly discovered the racial slur when the yearbooks were distributed.

"There is absolutely no excuse for this,” one parent told local news outlets. “This wasn’t just a mistake—it was an act of harm.”

In response, the Oakland Unified School District issued an apology and launched an investigation, stating they were “deeply sorry” and that the incident does not reflect the values of the school or district.

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The yearbooks have since been recalled, and officials are reviewing how the editing and approval process failed to catch the slur before printing.

"The entire Montclair School community and Oakland Unified School District are shocked and disgusted by what made it into the yearbook. The end of the school year is a joyful time when all school communities should be celebrating accomplishments and new beginnings, not facing a horrific example of our collective history," Director of Communications for the Oakland Unified School District, John Sasaki, told People.

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To prevent the issue from ever happening again, Sasaki told People that "the entire PTA yearbook committee has resigned, and the PTA Historian, who was the yearbook proofreader, is also leaving their role on the PTA."

"The PTA has also ordered a reprint of all the yearbooks," he added.