A teacher in Massachusetts was suspended for holding a mock slave auction and using a racist slur.
A teacher at an elementary school in Massachusetts has been suspended after staging a mock slave auction and using a racist slur in class, the superintendent of the Northborough and Southborough school district said, CNN reports. The incidents took place at Margaret Neary Elementary School, which is about 30 miles west of Boston.
In January, the unnamed teacher staged a “spontaneous mock slave auction” during a lesson on the transatlantic slave trade, according to school district superintendent Gregory Martineau in a letter to parents. During the event, the teacher asked two students of color to stand in front of the class and then had them discuss their physical characteristics, such as their teeth and physical strength.
The teacher’s actions come in the delicate context of Massachusetts’ long and troubled history with slavery. In 1641, the state became the first North American colony to officially legalize slavery and it continued to practice it until 1783, according to the Equal Justice Initiative. Boston was a major hub for the slave trade, where at least 2,400 kidnapped people arrived directly from Africa and were sold.
CNN further reports: In April, the same teacher used the N-word while reading a book that was not part of the fifth-grade curriculum. Martineau wrote in the letter: “It was later brought to the district’s attention that the N-word was not used in the book.”
According to Martineau, such derogatory words are an affront to human dignity and should not be used by staff or students. The teacher’s actions were condemned as “unacceptable” and a violation of the district’s core values. Martineau particularly emphasized the harmful influence of such role-playing methods on students of color.
After the incidents came to light, the students’ parents met with the teacher and the principal to discuss what had happened. However, a day later, the student who reported the teacher’s use of the slur was inappropriately singled out by the same teacher. This led to the district opening a formal investigation and placing the teacher on suspension.
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