Black Teacher Sues District, Says She Endured 'Racial Jeers, Insults'

[appalachiablue]

Source: NBC News

A black educator alleges in a lawsuit that she was subjected to racial discrimination in her job as an English teacher in a New York school district where she says she has been the only black teacher for 17 years.

Andrea Bryan, a high school English teacher, claims in her lawsuit against the Commack School District on Long Island that she "has been discriminated against and harassed by teachers and students" since she made a complaint about the lead teacher in the English Department.

Bryan, identified in court documents as a black female of Caribbean descent, alleges that the lead teacher, who is white, had made "racially derogatory" comments, according to the lawsuit filed Dec. 19 in federal court for the Eastern District of New York. In one instance, when Bryan asked the lead teacher about a bag of peanuts on a table in the English office, he told her the food was "for whites only," the lawsuit states.

In connection with the English Department's teaching of the play "The Crucible," which features the character of a black slave who travels to the U.S. from Barbados, the same lead teacher allegedly asked Bryan in front of colleagues, “Andrea, can you translate slave talk for me?” Bryan was "humiliated, degraded and embarrassed" by the remark, the lawsuit says.


Read more: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/black-teacher-sues-district-says-she-endured-racial-jeers-insults/ar-BBRBKTv?ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

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Following this 2015 incident, Bryan made an official complaint about the teacher's remark, and he was demoted.

Bryan also alleges she “was ostracized and made a pariah within the department” and that "racial jeers, insults and taunts" against her came from students, according to the lawsuit. In 2016, a student shouted "Aunt Jemima" at her in the school cafeteria.

[ProudLib72]

1. Lame! Really lame and sad that this is coming from students AND teachers

SMH!

[appalachiablue]

2. Horrible atmosphere, hope she can move on and up soon.

This, and more in article- just foul.

>'Neither Bryan nor the school district could be reached for comment. The Commack district serves about 7,800 students and as of the 2015-2016 school year its high school was 86 percent white, according to the New York State Education Department.'

[ProudLib72]

3. As we are both aware, this sort of thing happens all the time

but it doesn't get reported. I just think of how many people put up with being discriminated against because they are afraid of losing their job... or worse. Couple that with the fact that this is high school, where the teachers are supposed to be preparing the kids for the real world. Just what the hell are they preparing them for, a dystopian nightmare world of racism and hate? Certainly seems that way.

[appalachiablue]

4. A real toxic, vicious environment that must be addressed

or the insults and behavior will only escalate. The lead teacher who made racist remarks should have lost his job, not been demoted. The country has major evils to reckon with somehow, long overdue.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

7. Without a doubt!

[McKim]

5. This is Not the Only School District Like This

As a former Migrant Teacher I can tell you that this is rampant. People in positions of power can be abusive and racist. Cliques develop in schools and they can grab a lot of power. I feel for this teacher andwish I could support her. I wish her well with her lawsuit. I hope the dept. head looses his job.

[Initech]

6. Sigh... another day in Trump's America.

[oberliner]

8. In 2015?

[CreekDog]

11. We were waiting for you to come and undermine a post about racism towards a black person

right on schedule!

you don't miss much!

wherever there's a an accusation of racism, you're there to say, maybe it didn't happen, maybe it wasn't so bad, maybe it wasn't Trump's fault.

thank you truly for your concern about racism, you get very concerned when a nonwhite person says they are the victim of racism, very concerned that they aren't actually a victim of racism.

[oberliner]

12. Huh?

One of the racist incidents described took place in 2015. Obama was the POTUS then. Most likely he was also POTUS during the 2016 incident as well. Do you not see anything problematic in ascribing racism to "Trump's America" as opposed to acknowledging that these sorts of incidents have taken place regardless of who held the office? Also, this took place in New York (Long Island). I think it is dangerous to diminish the prevalence of this sort of behavior by attempting to link it to Trump rather than to the US more broadly.

[marybourg]

9. When civility and respect is

re-labeled "political correctness" and disparaged, civility and respect go out the window. Who will they come for next?

[appalachiablue]

10. For sure. This is unacceptable, for any staff. They're not in a prison yard

or army barracks.