Story By: William McGee, Sub-Editor:  Lee Bullen, Agency: Newsflash

The family of a 10-year-old black girl has filed a complaint against her school after she was covered up in a social media advert while her three white classmates remained visible.

The advert was posted on the official Instagram page of Colegio Domus Sapiens, a school in the municipality of Jundiai in the south-eastern Brazilian state of Sao Paulo.

In the original photo, the four girls, three white and one black, are seen standing alongside each other in the school gym.

However, in the advert the school posted, a text box is superimposed over the black girl.

The text says: “What is important at school is not just studying, it is also creating bonds of friendship and coexistence – Paulo Freire.”

The girl’s father told local media that he received supportive messages from well-wishers who expressed their outrage at the advert.

The school has since taken the promotion down, and published the original photo showing all four girls together without the text.

The school said in a statement that the mishap was not intentional and that the text box simply appeared in its default position.

The statement added: “The school, along a trajectory dedicated to social inclusion and the censorship of any and all discriminatory practices, decisively supports action aimed at curbing racism and the spread of propaganda of hatred and violence. This is our mission before the community and in the training of our students.”

Nevertheless, local media said the girl’s family has since filed a complaint, accusing the school of racism, and the police are investigating the matter.

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