COLLEYVILLE, Texas – Several minority students who posed for pictures during a Donald Trump themed pep rally now face accusations of racism.
Six Colleyville Heritage High School students posed at a recent pep rally with a sign meant to depict a wall, along with the message “Paid for by Trinity” scrawled on the front, a reference to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s vow to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, The Dallas Morning News reports.
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Five of the six students posing with the mock wall appear to be minorities.
The rally was themed “Make Colleyville Great Again” ahead of the Friday game against Trinity High School, which has a higher proportion of low-income minority students than the mostly affluent Colleyville Heritage, NBC DFW reports.
Several pictures from the rally, including the picture of the infamous paper wall, were posted online by a Colleyville student with the caption “Colleyville is going to TRUMP Trinity tonight,” according to the news site.
Trinity alum Nahil Hamam also posted pictures of the Colleyville rally to Facebook and alleged students were motivated by wealth and racism to disparage Trinity’s minority students.
“This is disgusting! I remember other high schools being snobby and backhanded about our socioeconomic status when I was at Trinity high school but this is just too far. Colleyville Heritage had a “TRUMP TRINITY” themed pep rally and you cannot for one second tell me this is just purely light hearted alliteration much less good sportsmanship,” Hamam wrote.
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“I rarely if ever get political on Facebook but I’m not sure where else to turn. Trinity’s diversity was something I’ve always been proud of. ‘Trump Trinity’ is sick and destructive. Where the hell are the adults to steer our community’s youth from this destructive train of thought? Oh that’s right… They’re probably the ones jeering it on,” she continued. “This may seem like an innocent joke, and I hate to be “that offended person,” but I hold Trinity close to my heart and I do not for one second think that there is not a race/wealth based diss behind ‘Trump Trinity.’”
Hamam’s Facebook post was shared hundreds of times, creating a firestorm around the incident. Numerous folks piled on the accusations of racism, while a few defended students in the pictures.
“I know many Trojans are upset by this but I have to point out that there are several different ethnicities in these photos and the point of Donald Trump is purely opinion,” Jennifer Johnson wrote. “Donald Trump has many supporters of all colors who feel very differently.”
Indiana Pacers power forward Myles Turner, who attended Trinity, also chimed in on Twitter.
“Trinity don’t y’all dare lose to Colleyville tonight in spite of this foolishness,” he wrote.
Trinity junior Angel Lopez told the Morning News many students were upset when they saw the pictures from the Colleyville rally, and they decided to take their frustrations out in the stands, where students waived Mexican flags to celebrate Trinity’s diversity.
Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District spokesman Rick Hadley told the news site the “Make Colleyville Great Again” theme was designed to coincide with the team’s military appreciation night, and officials are using the fallout as a “learning opportunity.”
“The thinking was that if we could beat Trinity, Colleyville Heritage football would be great again,” he said.
That didn’t happen. Trinity rolled over Colleyville Heritage 35-21, according to the Morning News.


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