Two California students who were expelled from an exclusive Catholic school for appearing in an alleged “blackface” photo have cleared their reputations and won a settlement of 1 million after they successfully proved the photo was poorly misinterpreted.
From Acne Masks to Accusations
Back in 2017, the boys, only 14 years old, attending Saint Francis High School, Mountain View, California, put on a store-bought green face mask to help nurse an acne-plagued friend.
Wet, the light green mask oxidized to dark green as it dried. Someone took a picture of the occasion, and the three of them were beaming happily, each of them having their face masked.
It lingered untouched for years. Then, in 2020, the photo reappeared on social media, just as the national Black Lives Matter protests were getting underway. Context-free, the photo went viral on the internet, and people were indignant.
Others accused the teens of mocking black people, calling the photo “blackface.”
Days after the 2020 controversy broke, Saint Francis High School acted rapidly. The two boys, identified only by initials, A.H. and H.H., were expelled. No trial of any kind, no opportunity to respond.
An instantaneous end of their enrollment and, for some time, their reputations.
A Court Battle for Equal Treatment
The parents of the teens didn’t sit back and take it. They sued the school, claiming Saint Francis had failed to give the boys due process before they were expelled.
The boys’ lawyers insisted the photo was just an acne mask, nothing related to race, and the school had jumped to conclusions by public opinion.
This week, a Santa Clara County jury agreed. The jury deemed the school’s disciplinary system unfair, and it deprived the students of the right to fair procedure.
The verdict forced Saint Francis High School to pay the teens $500,000 each, plus reimburse the students for roughly $70,000 in tuition.
“This case is significant not only for our clients but for its groundbreaking effect on all private high schools in California,” attorney Krista Baughman, the students’ lawyer, explained.
The ruling establishes legal precedent: private schools in the Golden State are statutorily required to afford fair procedure rights to students before they discipline or expel them, rights previously not afforded.
Vindication After Decades of Stigma
It was not only a monetary judgment for the families, but also to clear the names of their sons. Through the statement, the family of A.H. said,
“We want to sincerely thank the jury and the court system for helping our boys and our families find justice, which now paves the way for their names to be cleared for things they never did.”
The original complaint had claimed $20 million in damages, though the jury did not accept those allegations. The settlement of $1 million and official recognition of unequal treatment are satisfying.
Saint Francis High School announced it “respectfully disagrees” with the ruling and is exploring additional legal avenues, including an appeal.
Meanwhile, the two young men, now adults, are finally able to leave the past behind them, even after years of living under unfair stigma. What began as a young expression of friendship escalated into public disgrace and years of court proceedings.
Now, having given their verdict, their story becomes a teachable moment on the rush to judgment, internet indignation, and the long-term damage misinformation does.
Ultimately, the episode was less dramatic than the internet headlines would have you think: it wasn’t blackface. It was merely an acne face mask.
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