A social studies teacher at Poinciana High School in Florida has been reassigned pending the outcome of an investigation after she told her class she has the right to “dislike Blacks” during an online lesson on October 12, the New York Post reports.
In the video of the incident that has been shared on social media, Tracey Brown can be heard exchanging words with a student who tries to explain to her that “there are some Black people that live in communities where the cops do not treat them right.”
After the student asks if she understands, Brown tells him to “stop right there” before launching into a tirade.
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“I wanna be very clear. What you don’t know about me could fill a friggen swimming pool,” she says. “I was 16-years-old and I was attacked on a MARTA train by a gang – and yes, gang-wearing bandanas, gang signs, language of Blacks.”
She adds: “I have as much right as anyone else to dislike Blacks for what happened to me. So you don’t get to sit there and preach to me what I do and don’t know.”
I was told to take to twitter so the link for a disciplinary action petition as well as the school’s contact page are in my bio.
— ✨?nessa?✨ (@holasoynessa) October 13, 2020
The teacher’s name is Tracey Brown and I go to Poinciana High School pic.twitter.com/c38HI8Xzo8
Brown also said she was a “little bit more educated” than her alleged attackers. “And I was raised that skin tone is nothing but pigment,” she continued, according to the New York Post. “It has nothing to do with who you are on the inside.”
Another video of Brown registering her displeasure with the Black Lives Matter movement was also shared on social media. She reportedly labeled supporters of the movement as “entitled, self-righteous individuals.”
“You are implying that Black lives matter more than anyone else,” Brown also said. The video of the incident was shared on a platform created by the school for students and parents to discuss school-related issues during the COVID-19 pandemic, WFTV reports.
The student Brown addressed in the video told the news outlet he got into the exchange with the teacher after a topic on the Black Lives Matter movement sprang up, while another student said they were having a lesson about the constitution before things got heated up.
“We’re going over the amendments…then some kids started asking different things,” the student said, adding that Brown’s comments were offensive.
“I took offense to it because I am black…I didn’t want her to, like, say anything about this at all,” the student said.
School authorities have reassigned Brown in a role where she currently has no contact with students, pending the outcome of an investigation into the incident, the New York Post reports.
“Racism, intolerance, and injustice have no place in our communities or in our schools,” a statement from the school board said. “We will not tolerate behavior by students or staff which insults, degrades, or stereotypes any race, gender, disability, physical condition, ethnic group, religion, or sexual orientation.”
Meanwhile, a petition has been launched demanding disciplinary action against Brown, with over 4,000 people signing so far.
