A white dad rushed the stage and pushed the Black superintendent out of the way so he couldn’t shake his daughter’s hand during her high school graduation yelling ‘I don’t want her touching him.’
The shocking incident took place Friday at Baraboo High School in Wisconsin – the same school that drew national headlines in 2018 when a photo emerged depicting several current and former students doing the Nazi salute.
Graduation footage from last week shows the man, whose identity has not been reported to protect his daughter, coming onto the stage as his daughter shook school officials’ hands.
As she approached Superintendent Rainey Briggs, who is Black and was hired in 2021, the man jumped on stage and grabbed the superintendent by his arm and dragged him away from his daughter.
“That’s my daughter,” the man says, according to footage of the ceremony. “You better get up off me man,” Briggs can be heard saying as the two went off camera. School officials can be seen running after the man and Briggs as a woman attempts to quiet the crowd of students as “boos” come for the crowd.
Three Baraboo police officers, including the school resource officer, were part of the group that intervened, local outlet WiscNews. Officers then escorted the father off school property.
Baraboo School District spokesperson Hailey Wagner told WiscNews they have referred a disorderly conduct charge for the man to the Sauk County District Attorney’s Office.
“We would like to emphasize that the safety and well-being of our students, staff, and community members is a top priority,” Wagner said in a statement.
Community members were quick to condemn the father on social media.
“This is ridiculous!! Dr. Rainey Briggs you handled this well,” one user said on Facebook, sharing the video.
“Some bigot interceded to stop his white daughter from touching a black man on stage, in 2024,” another user commented on Facebook. “This is absolutely wild that this isn’t already being called out for the outright racism that it is. I know there are criticisms Dr. Briggs, some of which may be valid, but nothing that would remotely justify anything like this. It’s a handshake. What century are we in?”
Six years ago, a photo taken by a student’s parent emerged depicting a group of former and current male students doing a Nazi salute. One boy in the front row can also be seen forming his index finger and thumb into an “OK” sign, a symbol co-opted by followers of far-right and white supremacist movements.
The image was taken ahead of their junior prom and was not affiliated with the school or school district.
“The photo of students posted to #BarabooProud is not reflective of the educational values and beliefs of the School District of Baraboo,” Lori Mueller, the district’s superintendent at the time, told The Independent in 2018. “We are investigating and will pursue any and all available and appropriate actions, including legal, to address.”
Mueller later wrote in a letter that the school district “not in a position to punish the students for their actions” because of their right to free speech.
“As previously stated, we cannot know the intentions in the hearts of those who were involved,” Mueller wrote, according to The Wisconsin State Journal.
Last week’s eventful graduation also came amid rising tensions between the district and parents.
Several parents have voiced complaints about superintendent pay and “management of district resources,” local outlet Wisconsin Right Now reports, with some even attempting to recall School Board President Kevin Vodak.
The Independent has contacted the Baraboo School District for comment.