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A non-Black English teacher loves saying the N-word in front of her Black students, or so a viral video suggests.
On April 5, an unnamed and unidentifiable language arts teacher at Sequoia Middle School assigned her students a Mark Twain novel.
When a student questioned the spelling of the N-word, the white-looking teacher, in an unhinged manner, overused the word.
The teacher’s disregard for her Black students, her other socially conscious students, and her lack of professionalism was so obvious that even her children, including the Black student who goaded her into saying the N-word, thought it was immature and reckless.
“The teacher got in front of the class, and she was saying that the word is just an English word and everybody can say it if she wants to, it’s in the dictionary, and people are oversensitive over the word,” a Black female student who recorded the incident told ABC News.
“She was trying to force him to say the word, and she repeatedly kept saying it, and she had a smirk on her face,” the student videographer said the teacher singled out her fellow Black classmate, said. “I was just thinking, ‘Dang, this teacher is out of her mind.'”
The teacher, whose race cannot be determined from the video, said the offensive word several times, according to students in her classroom.
However, she appears not Black and could be mistaken for a white person.
The Porterville, Calif., magnet school has an enrollment of minority students who make up 87 percent of the students, most of whom are Hispanic.
Although a subject of controversy and debate, Twain’s usage of the N-word in his literature, his famous novel “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” is a period piece that reflects a time when such language was common and accepted.
Some might say that Twain’s work perpetuates harmful stereotypes and attitudes about Black people. Others might argue that it is important to confront and acknowledge the history of racism and the language used to perpetuate it.
A teacher who repeatedly uses an offensive word in the classroom can create a hostile and uncomfortable learning environment for students, especially those who belong to the group targeted by the word.
“While we acknowledge that this derogatory language comes from a novel first published in the late 1800s and that historical context is important to consider when discussing literature, the district does not condone the language that was used in the video or using that language outside of the context of discussing the novel,” The Fontana Unified School District said in a prepared statement.
“Not acceptable,” Caroline Rivera, a mother with two students enrolled in the school, told ABC Los Angeles. In her opinion, the teacher needs to be disciplined.
“Pulling the teacher out? Maybe going through training again?” Rivera said.
The Fontana Unified School District was unclear whether or not the teacher would be disciplined, and on April 5, the teacher said she did not want to comment on the video.