A viral storm overtook Gardendale social media pages this week as a screenshot of an Instagram post surfaced alleging that they were Gardendale students in blackface with racially-charged captions attached.

Nez Calhoun, spokesperson for the Jefferson County School System, confirmed that the students in the photo are Gardendale High School students.

One of the girls shown in the photos and identified on social media is the daughter of Jefferson County Board of Education Director of Transportation Neal Underwood. Underwood told media outlets his daughter is the victim of a stolen photo that showed her and a friend in charcoal face masks six months ago without captions that had any racial context. According to Underwood, the photo was taken from a social media account belonging to one of the girls and posted with the racist language by someone other than the two girls.

The images then went viral, with the screenshot being reshared hundreds of times across numerous social media platforms. 

The photo with the offensive text was posted by an account named “agd.spam” on December 2, 2016, according to the screenshot. AGD are the initials of the other girl in the photo and “spam” is a common term for junk on the internet. The account has since been deleted or renamed and was unsearchable on Instagram on Tuesday evening.

Gardendale High School principal Mary Beth Blankenship issued a statement via email on Wednesday.

“We were made award of the posting last night following graduation,” Blankenship’s statement read. “We have been investigating the situation. GHS work for all students, regardless of race, to help them graduate prepared and to be a success as an adult. Our mission states that we are committed to creating an environment where learning is a priority for all. This is an unfortunate event that has impacted many people. I am disappointed that this has occurred.”

The photos surfaced just days after appeals were filed in the ongoing legal fight wherein the city of Gardendale wants to separate from Jefferson County Schools and form its own school system. The case reignited a decades-old federal lawsuit regarding desegregation in the county school system. A finding last month from U.S. Federal Judge Madeline Haikala found that she did believe the city was partially motivated to create a new school system by racial bias, but set forth a path for the city to create a school system within her guidelines. Earlier this week, the private plaintiffs in the case, as well as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the Gardendale City School Board filed appeals to change Haikala’s decision and to place a stay on the order pending the appeal.

Rachel Davis is the editor of The North Jefferson News and can be reached at editor@njeffersonnews.com. Erik Harris is the sports editor for The North Jefferson News and can be reached at sports@njeffersonnews.com.