GULFPORT, MS — Local one year old Ryker Thomas has come under fire after appearing in blackface at his first birthday party.

"We didn't raise him like this," said Ryker's mother Sarah as she furiously wiped his face. "No amount of chocolate cake makes blackface okay."

The birthday party had reportedly started off innocuously, with no one suspecting the birthday boy's deep-seated racism. "He seemed like such a nice baby," said neighbor Julie Simmons. "One moment, we were all singing 'Happy Birthday' - and the next, there's Ryker in blackface! And he was smiling. I've never witnessed such open racism in all my life. You just never know what's in a man's - or a baby's -true heart."

Pictures of the incident began circulating quickly, leading to calls for Ryker to be banned from his Mother's Day Out program. "Hate has no home at the School for Little People," said teacher Amy Carter. "These infants have to know - this is not ok. If we just allow a kid to go in blackface one day, and then come to school the next - what kind of message does that send to the other babies?"

At publishing time, Ryker had issued a one word response to questions about the incident: "More."

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