EXCLUSIVE: How Arizona's Democratic Governor candidate Katie Hobbs organized her high school's 'spirit week' - where students took part in a 'slave day' and bid for younger students to perform 'degrading' tasks
- Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs is running for governor this year
- DailyMail.com uncovered yearbook photos that show Hobbs was a student leader while her high school held a 'Slave Day' tradition
- The student council page with her face on it says the student leaders coordinated Spirit Week events - when Slave Day appears to have taken place
- It went on for longer than Hobbs' tenure so it's highly likely she was aware
- The tradition involves freshman 'slaves' following orders from senior 'masters'
- Seton Catholic Preparatory School yearbook photos also show freshmen were able to buy seniors as 'slaves' in an 'auction' at another point
- One photo shows a student restraining another with a leash
Arizona secretary of state Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, is running for governor of Arizona
Arizona Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs was a student leader at her Catholic preparatory high school when pupils took part in a yearly tradition known as ‘Slave Day.’
Copies from past yearbooks of Seton Catholic Preparatory High School were obtained by DailyMail.com and appear to show the practice went on for nearly four decades and was last mentioned in a yearbook from 1997.
Hobbs, who played an active student body role as a member of the yearbook staff and student council for part of her tenure, went to school there from 1984 through 1988.
The tradition entails freshman students performing tasks for senior class ‘masters’ that included performing ‘embarrassing acts of servitude.’
One example from the 1985 yearbook, which would have been the end of Hobbs’ freshman year, describes ‘slaves’ in her grade ‘wearing unbecoming hairdoes and unbecoming outfits, sporting embarrassing signs and performing embarrassing acts of servitude for senior masters for a day.’
It’s not clear if Hobbs participated herself in the ‘auctions,’ but her 1987 Student Council page credits her and the other student leaders for having 'coordinated the many class events during Spirit Week' - when Slave Day appears to have been celebrated.
She would have likely known the tradition was celebrated and regularly featured in the Seton Catholic Prep yearbook when she joined its staff in 1987.
The 1987 yearbook mentions ‘Slave Day’ four times.
Katie Hobbs' high school, Seton Catholic Preparatory School in Arizona, held a yearly tradition known as 'Slave Day' (pictured - Slave Day noted in the 1985 yearbook, when Hobbs was a freshman)
The tradition would have been well known at the school in 1987, when Hobbs was a yearbook club member and part of the student council (which the above page says 'coordinated' Spirit Week events, when Slave Day appears to have taken place)
An accompanying image shows a student on their knees while wearing a collar and leash led by what appears to be a fellow classmate.
Yearbook images show seniors are also ‘auctioned off’ for a couple of dollars to freshman students.
One portion from Hobbs’ senior class yearbook refers to her grade ‘paying for cruelties rendered’ during freshman initiation week on a day called ‘Senior Slave Day.’
Another image shows a white female student with what appears to be black paint streaked across parts of her face.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Hobbs’ campaign for comment via email three times but has not heard back.
Seton Catholic Preparatory High School also did not respond to inquiries about Hobbs’ participation or whether the ‘Slave Day’ practice is still ongoing.
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Slave Day is referenced at least four times in the 1987 yearbook that Hobbs was a part of
One image from the 1986 yearbook shows a girl with black paint on her face
The practice continued at least through Hobbs' senior year, as evidenced by the 1988 yearbook
Hobbs, who is currently serving as Arizona’s Secretary of State, is running for governor in November against Donald Trump-backed former local TV anchor Kari Lake, a Republican.
She was previously accused of racism by a former staffer for Arizona’s state Senate Democrats who maintains that Hobbs should not be Democrats’ nominee.
‘Is Katie Hobbs a racist as defined by the Oxford dictionary? Yes, she is. Is she worthy of sitting in any role of government? No, she is not,’ Talonya Adams said during a press conference in December 2021, according to 12 News. She condemned both Lake and Hobbs.
The Democratic candidate was forced to apologize last year after a jury sided with Adams’ claim that she was fired for speaking out against getting lower pay than white and male colleagues.
A new CBS News poll shows Lake and Hobbs locked in a tight race.
Both had 49 percent of support from likely Arizona voters, according to the survey, which also showed Democrat Senator Mark Kelly slightly ahead of his Trump-backed Republican challenger.
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