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CONTROVERSIAL: Sean King, 8, left school after he painted his face so he could look like Martin Luther King Jnr

A BOY who forced to leave school after he painted his face black to look like Martin Luther King Jr, has demanded an apology from his school.

Sean King, a white second grade student at Meridian Ranch Elementary in Colorado Springs, reportedly said that he felt that school officials were 'mean' to him and his family, when they asked the 8-year-old to remove the makeup because it was deemed ‘disrespectful to black people’.

The schoolboy, who doesn’t understand how his costume, which also included a dark suit and bushy moustache, could offend anyone, told KRDO-TV: “They thought it was inappropriate and it will be disrespectful to black people. And I say it’s not.”

“I like black people. It’s just a costume and I don’t want to insult anybody.”

Sean and his parents were waiting for him to give a presentation for the school's 'Wax Museum Day,' along with Sean's classmates and their parents, when the principal approached him and told him to take off the face paint.

Sean's mother, Michelle King-Roca, told her son not to take the blackface off.

Later, the principal and two other school administrators summoned the family the school's office.

“As a parent I think it’s pretty sad that you’ve got a principal and a faculty member that are acting the way they are when they should be setting an example for children,” she said after deciding to pull her son out of school for the rest of the day.

Stephanie Meredith, a spokeswoman for the school district, told the TV station: “When other students are offended by something, it is the principal’s role that the educational environment is safe for all students.”

School officials are now said to be considering offering special classes about racial stereotypes, in a bid to teach kids and parents more about racism.