SALT LAKE CITY — The day after a TikTok video showing two teenagers in blackface inside a Cedar City Walmart went viral, Governor Spencer Cox met with members of the state's Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Commission.
FOX 13 News is told the meeting was previously scheduled, but the viral video was brought up in the luncheon at the Governor's Mansion on Wednesday afternoon.
"He essentially just affirmed the position of the administration," said Nubia Peña, the director of Utah's Division of Multicultural Affairs. "Whenever there is racism, we will denounce. We want to make sure we are calling people into the discussion. This is a great learning opportunity. We want to make sure everyone who lives in our state feels like they are safe and they belong."
The video was originally posted to TikTok, then made private but has since been copied and re-shared on numerous platforms. It depicts a group of teenagers inside a Walmart. Two young men are in blackface and dressed as prison inmates. Others in the video are dressed as police officers. A woman behind the phone that recorded them tells them their choice of costume is inappropriate and the teens are heard laughing in response.
The Cedar City Police Department said it confirmed the video was shot inside the local Walmart store. Walmart said in a statement that once its associates learned of it, they told the teens to leave the store. The Iron County School District said it was investigating. Both entities were trying to determine who was in the video, but police said it did not appear that any crimes had been committed.
"We strongly condemn racism in all its forms and we call on every Utahn to reject such offensive stereotypes, slurs and attitudes. We must do better," Gov. Cox said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
Bridget Shears, the chair of the Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Commission, called the video "very distressing."
"What’s important to all of us is we stand together as a state. Everyone as one Utah," she told FOX 13 News following the meeting. "That unfortunate situation was something that divided — a community even. I hope these young people learned a lesson and someone else is having more positive conversations with them so that this doesn’t happen again."
Shears said the state of Utah is doing a lot to promote inclusion, diversity and equity.
"I've seen a lot of change in Utah since I have been part of this commission and certainly since Gov. Cox has been in office," she said.
Emmie Gardner, another member of the commission, called for more education on inclusivity.
"Let’s educate and let’s work with families and how do we help teach inclusivity and diversity and support, right? And not have that incident beget other violence. Because what we’ve heard is now some of those kids are being… vilified and having death threats for them."
Gardner said the commission believes in a peaceful response to problems like this.
"How do we approach it in a way that’s a learning moment — but also a healing moment," she said.
