A Chicago school has launched an investigation after a Black doll that appeared as if it was being lynched in a classroom sparked a heated dispute between two teachers.
The teachers at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School got caught in an intense argument Monday that wound up being recorded by a student and circulated between thousands of their classmates on Snapchat.
According to the Chicago Sun Times, a Black teacher approached a white colleague after the white history teacher hung the doll, a Black football player in a blue uniform, at the front of the room from a cord around its neck.
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In a letter to the Whitney Young school community, Principal Joyce Kenner said the teacher hung the doll because he found it “in his room and wanted the students to see if someone would claim it,” the Times reported. “A colleague approached the teacher about the doll and the conversation between the teachers became contentious,” Kenner wrote.
She also noted that school staff met with students Tuesday to discuss the situation. “We gave students an opportunity to voice any concerns and recommendations they had,” she said, per the Times.
Kenner did not directly respond to a request for comment Wednesday but directed The Daily Beast to a Fox 32 Chicago story that said she filed an official incident report and the school would follow Chicago Public Schools’ guideline of disciplinary actions. It is unclear whether both teachers will be reprimanded.
In the video, obtained by the Times, neither of the teachers can be seen but they can be heard shouting back and forth, calling one another “stupid.”
“You[’re] fucking stupid,” one teacher snapped.
Near the end of the video, one of the teachers said, “I’m not going to stand up in here with you…you making me feel uncomfortable,” according to the Times.
In a statement posted to its Twitter account Wednesday morning, the Chicago Teachers Union—a network of 25,000 instructors who serve Chicago Public Schools—addressed the ordeal, saying, “Practices that mitigate the harm of racial biases must be…consistent, in our schools.”
“Mayor Lightfoot has a responsibility to provide a safe space for every member of our school communities, which is especially important in a district that serves a student population that is 90 percent Black and Brown children,” the statement continued. “And any definition of ‘safety’ must include creating and reinforcing an environment of equity and inclusion for all students, staff and faculty of color.”
The Whitney M. Young Magnet School, part of the Chicago Public School system, says on its website that it pushes a vision to “create a positive, diverse, friendly, and challenging learning community where students grow toward fulfilling their potential in academic, artistic, physical, and socio-emotional dimensions. We value the uniqueness of each student and prepare our graduates both to succeed in their own lives and to make positive contributions to society.” The school is home to students from seventh to twelfth grades.
Chicago Public Schools did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
