E. Connor

On the evening of Monday, February 6, a group of freshmen attending Saint Hubert Catholic High School for Girls, a private Catholic school in Mayfair, posted a series of racially motivated videos, including blackface and the use of racial slurs. The first of these videos depicts one student being sprayed in the face with a dark spray paint while the girl spraying her shouts, “You’re a black girl! You know your roots! It’s February! You’re nothing but a slave!” Once her entire face is covered, the girl being sprayed looks at the camera and exclaims, “I’m black and I’m proud!” This video and others of the same nature were sent directly to African American students enrolled at Saint Hubert and surrounding schools.

Protests broke out among both students and families once the news broke, not only because of the content of the videos, but because of the apparent complacency of Saint Hubert administration (see below).Protests outside of Saint Hubert remained peaceful as current students, alumni, transfers, families, and other community members voiced their disdain for the situation and the way Saint Hubert has dealt with it. Action was taken in the form of an email and social media post that read:

“Earlier today, it came to our attention that a handful of our students posted images and videos on a social media platform of a racially charged nature. As a Catholic educational institution that seeks to form Women of Faith and Integrity, we view racism as a mortal sin. There is no place for it in our hearts and minds and there is no tolerance for such behavior at Saint Hubert’s.

We are extremely disappointed to learn that anyone associated with Saint Hubert’s would act in such a manner, which is entirely inconsistent with our values. Please be assured that this matter is being actively investigated. All those responsible will be disciplined appropriately in accordance with our school handbook.”

This announcement came after the story had already hit local papers, including The Philadelphia Inquirer , and after protests had already been planned. The original video went viral on a national level, leaving all eyes on Saint Hubert’s handling of the situation. The scandal placed so much negative attention on Saint Hubert that the school closed its doors for the rest of the week, resuming class the next Monday, February 13.

According to an anonymous student at Saint Hubert, only eight students showed up for Homeroom at 9:50. A week after the original videos were posted, Saint Hubert has announced that the girls involved have “been identified and [they] are no longer members of this school community.” The school has also expressed their gratitude for the Philadelphia Police Department, who continued to monitor the school from the inside and out. Since the incident, Saint Hubert has recently hired a security guard to patrol the school internally. 

Now that students and teachers are back in the building, Saint Hubert has planned group therapy circles for and has had all guidance counselors on call and ready to talk. Private statements were made to the student body in the week following, but since, the incident has faded into the background. Now the school must balance moving on and moving away from what happened, and students and faculty have been caught in the crossfire.

Saint Hubert Catholic High School electronic bulletin, seen outside the school on the corner of Cottman Avenue and Torresdale Avenue

I am an alum of Saint Hubert, and attended the school from 2018 to 2022. Relatives and friends of mine are still enrolled there, and I keep in close contact with the Saint Hubert community. I asked current students and alumni for their statements on the events of the past month, and while the responses will be kept anonymous, this is what they had to say:

“[The Saint Hubert administration] feels no remorse and aren’t taking the situation seriously at all. They also didn’t even want to meet with the archdiocese on it, whose stance is ‘give it time, things will pass.’ There are members of the board running their mouths about how the situation isn’t as bad as it is.”

“Honestly, I don’t like the way Hubert’s handled it. They kinda seemed like they were on the chill side of the situation; even though they wrote those letters addressing the problem and that they were ‘figuring’ it out, it simply didn’t seem like that big of a deal to them as it should be.”

“[Saint Hubert] responded to the problem horribly, they’re hiding it instead of tackling the root of the problem and discipline. During my time at SHHS, POC students got dress coded for their hair instead of the white girls whose asses were basically hanging out. Also, one of the [white] teachers at SHHS said the n-word during school.”

“If they truly viewed racism as a mortal sin, they would have been expelled immediately.”