Parents say a Miami preschool painted toddlers in blackface for a Black History Month lesson, report says

• Parents at a Miami preschool say kids were put in blackface during a class, per the Miami Herald.
• Photographs circulated of three toddlers with what appeared to be brown paint on their faces.

Parents were outraged after discovering that a Miami preschool appeared to put children in blackface to teach a lesson about Black History Month, a report says.

Photos began circulating among parents of three toddlers at Studio Kids' Little River with what appeared to be brown paint on their faces, according to the Miami Herald, which two parents sent the photos.

One of the children appeared to be dressed as a construction worker, and the other was dressed as a police officer, and it was not clear what the third child was dressed as the paper noted.

Courtney Politis, who is Black, saw the photographs of at least three students in blackface and has since removed her children from the preschool.

"You should know better as an educator," Politis told the Miami Herald. "What else are you teaching our children?"

Other parents that spoke to the Miami Herald also expressed concern about the incident.

One parent said she was "shocked and somewhat destabilized" and questioned: "How do I trust them to decide what to show my toddler?"

Parents told the paper that the school is primarily Latino, and Politis said that the teacher who taught the lesson involving blackface is Latina.

According to the paper, Politis texted Studio Kids director Patricia Vitale about the blackface photos and told her, "this is racist."

Vitale told Politis that she did not understand and asked, "what is racist?" and later sent out a message to all parents.

"We have not intended to offend anyone, and we are very sorry about any inconvenience," Vitale's message said, according to screenshots seen by the Miami Herald. "The parents that know us know that we have never had a bad intention in our institution."

"The issue is resolved already; 80 percent of the families are okay," Vitale told the Miami Herald before adding that further questions should be directed toward her lawyer.