Looks pretty obvious to me that what is deemed “offensive” is the fact that the photographer used a brown-colored smiley-face.
If he had used a white or yellow smiley face, would we be hearing this hullaballoo? I think not.
Btw, according to article, the photographer said he was asked by the PTA to use a smiley face (as opposed to the originally proposed shape, a star). It wasn’t his idea.
Actually, the “outrage” would probably be even louder if the guy superimposed the usual white “smiley face”. “You made my son look white!!!” You can’t win with these people so in the words of Bette Midler, “F*** ‘em if they can’t take a joke”
The kid's black, I think. If he'd used a white or yellow smiley face, Jesse Jackson would be involved by now.