By Joseph Goodwin
Eagle Staff Writer
On Monday, October 12, a Tulsa Public School teacher was alleged to have used racial slurs in front of students, following an incident were derogatory words were said in a video viewed by numerous students attending Thoreau Demonstration Academy.
The video, posted on the mobile application Snapchat, was of a student using hate filled speech directed at African American and multi-ethnic persons. Shortly after the video was witness by the student’s schoolmates, several distraught students asked their teacher about the use of hate filled speech, hoping for some sense of reassurance the teacher would declare the language immoral and wrong. When contacted, TPS officials did confirm an incident involving a Thoreau student had occurred, but due to TPS policy, no further comments could be made, regarding the incident.
However, the teacher, whose identity will remain confidential, until TPS can confirm or deny the accounts, indicated to the class the language in question was not offensive, adding they use these words with “friends” all the time. The racially charged words, according to accounts, were “Niggas”, “Niggers”, and “Porch Monkeys”, which the teacher is alleged to have said to the entire classroom. When the TPS official was informed of the teacher’s conduct, the TPS official indicated they were unaware a TPS employee had used these words or acted in such a manner, adding this behavior and language was completely unacceptable under any circumstances.
A Thoreau school official is alleged to have recorded the student’s Snapchat hate filled rant. The student’s video appears to be in line with a recent Justice Department report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, indicating a dramatic rise in hate related or inspired incidents have occurred across the country since 2016, increasing by more than 17 percent nationwide.
At the time of publication, TPS officials could not confirm nor deny the actions of a TPS employee had transpired, but assured The Oklahoma Eagle, they would investigate the allegations.
A parent to one of the student’s did indicate they were extremely distraught by the teacher’s behavior, adding there are only four possible outcomes to this sad situation, which has created a non-conducive learning environment for their child’s academic progress. The student’s parent indicated they felt confident TPS officials would resolve the issue, while administering the appropriate punishment, according to TPS guidelines.
