Swedish students hold 'slave auction'

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LUND, Sweden, April 19 (UPI) -- Two student groups at a Swedish university are in trouble after holding mock slave auctions of people in blackface.

The National Afro-Swedish Association reported the Halland and Helsingkrona associations at Lund University to the police for hate speech over "jungle parties" held last weekend.

"Slavery is one of the worst crimes against humanity, and students at Lund University are trying to make a joke about it. They are laughing at the fact that several million of my ancestors were kidnapped, raped and killed," Momodou Jallow of the African association told The Local Tuesday.

At a party attended by 90 people Saturday, three people with blackened faces and ropes around their necks were led into a hall by a "slave trader" and "sold."

Jallow said the students were not acting from ignorance.

"This is not a bunch of skinheads. This is the elite. Lund's students are some of the best educated in Sweden," he said. "This racism is becoming all too common."

Elinor Lavesson of the Halland student group voiced regret.

"Our party had a theme along the lines of the Lion King. The interpretation by the group of students was really stupid," she said.