Common at The Lyric Opera in Chicago. (Photo credit: Eddy “Precise” Lamarre)
A White teacher from Milpitas, California who impersonated rapper and activist Common is currently on leave for an undisclosed period of time. The teacher, David Carter, is now admitting he made a “horrible mistake,” but previously had no reservations when placing dark paint on his face to imitate the Chicago-bred artist for Halloween.
“I would become the hip-hop artist Common, doing the Microsoft AI guy,” Carter explained to NBC Bay Area. “I had no intention to come across as blackface, and my actions were perceived that way and offended so many people. I’m truly sorry and I apologize.
“As a teacher, I constantly going over the top to engage my students in learning — I went too far,” he said.
Carter has no choice but to take full responsibility for his actions, as the video clip (below) was shared by a student who received it in a message.
Sooooooooo… one of our WHITE teachers at mhs yesterday decided to paint his face to look like common the rapper yesterday. pic.twitter.com/1WudSddCLZ
— karrington (@karrington_kk) November 1, 2019
“I recognize my mistake. I ask anybody who has been adversely affected by this, – and that’s a lot of people – to give me another chance because my heart is in the right place,” Carter added.
One person who stands to be affected by Carter’s actions is Common, who discovered he was the victim of an awkward imitation from his daughter. Unsurprisingly, she sent him the video the minute she saw it.
Click through to see how Common is handling the matter.
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