Superintendent Apologizes For Blackface Photo

The photo of Paducah Schools Superintendent Dr. Donald Shively was taken in 2002 and surfaced online earlier this week, prompting calls for his resignation. WPSD's Shammaria Morrison reports.

(WPSD/NBC News) —  The Paducah, Kentucky NAACP is calling for the immediate resignation of Dr. Donald Shively as superintendent of Paducah Public Schools after a photo of Shively in blackface surfaced online Tuesday.

Shively reached out to NBC affiliate WPSD, asking to discuss the photo.

He says the photo was taken in 2002, and the Paducah Public Schools Board has known of its existence for nearly two years.

The photo shows Shively at a Halloween party, in blackface, wearing a gold chain, a doo-rag, and fake gold teeth, with the caption “HAPPY HIZZLEWEEN!!! THE SHIZLEY’S”.

“If you don’t know me and you look at that picture, I 100 percent agree that there are lots of questions that you would be asking if you are apart of our African America community, but at the same time I hope that we can use this too know that one picture, one interaction doesn’t depict who somebody is or what another race is like,” Shively said.

Shively says he has never treated any students differently based on race, or otherwise.

“I would want to stress that’s not what I think and if you look at decisions we made as a superintendent and board that does not go in line with that imagery,” Shively said. “I understand why you would think that and I would want to have dialogue about how we move forward from that.”

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