NY Teacher made Black students act like slaves in mock auction and call white students “Master”

The school is now conceding the teacher, "exercised poor judgment."

...

May 31, 2019

A school in New York is under investigation in wake of claims that one of its educators made Black students pretend to be slaves in a mock slave auction during a class exercise.

According to WWNYTV, outraged parent, Nicole Dayes, claims her fourth-grade son and another African-American child at Watertown City’s North Elementary School were put into the middle of the classroom during the ill fated lesson.

“The teacher then started the ‘bidding’ by assigning prices to the Caucasian students. After the winning bid was placed, my son was then told how slaves would take the slave owner’s last name and what he was to call the slave owner by,” said Dayes.

“Then my son and the other ‘slave’ were instructed to call the Caucasian child by ‘master’ and the child’s last name.”

David Ackley, the father of another fourth-grade student, also told the station: “I was taken aback, shocked actually to think that a school would actually do something like that in today’s day and age. If it actually happened, I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.”

“I have a grandson that’s Black and if it was him that was sold as a slave, I would’ve been right to school,” said Dawn Finley. “My feelings on it, I do believe that the teacher should be fired.”

While the school has not disclosed the identity of the teacher, they did release a statement saying it had “received complaints from parents that a fourth grade teacher exercised poor judgment in teaching a recent lesson. The teacher has been placed on administrative leave pending a full investigation into the matter.”

Back in March, another teacher at a private school in Westchester County, New York, was terminated for allegedly asking Black students to raise their hands and then stand in the hallway to have imaginary chains placed on their necks, wrists and ankles.