Racist Teachers Proudly Expose Their True Character

And it keeps happening over and over again

Introduction

The letters on a picture either worn or held by five educators at the Christian School District in O’Fallon, Missouri have been erased from view. However, the damage that each of these educators has caused will live on to reinforce their legacy to humanity.

School personnel within the high school recently participated in a human scrabble activity. While the purpose of the activity remains unclear, it is assumed that staff members had a letter in their possession and they needed to connect with colleagues to formulate a word. Since the activity was a human scrabble game, it is further concluded that words that described human characteristics needed to be created. The individuals are shown in the picture posed in a playground area away from other participants. I believe these despicable educators decided to create their version of the game by proudly creating and displaying a racial slur.

As the woman without a mask posed with a huge smile on her face, all of the women either held the letters that created the racist word “coons” or attached and wore the letters around their necks. These actions communicated their deep connection to bigotry. The fact that they gleefully posed for a picture upholding their prejudice affirms the reality that they are unashamed of their opinions of Black people. This includes their opinions about their Black students and their Black parents.

Now Black families enrolled in the educational organization as well as other families enrolled there who advocate for social justice have been betrayed by the Christian School District.

The Response

The Christian School District published the following statement on its website.

“Christian School District desires to be a place where all people encounter the unconditional love of God through Jesus Christ. Part of this endeavor is to see an end to division between races through the unity offered by Christ.

Over the weekend pictures were posted to a personal page on social media featuring Christian School District employees. One of these pictures included an abbreviated word that has racial connotations. As soon as this was brought to the attention of the individual who posted it, the picture was removed.

Christian School District has been investigating and addressing the incident since it was brought to our attention. Appropriate disciplinary action will occur after the investigation is complete. We are spending time listening to those impacted, providing support to help repair relationships, and identifying necessary steps in moving forward together.

We recognize that this ill-informed action caused hurt and offense to many students and families in our school and the wider community. We offer no excuse as to why this word was used. In a statement to families last night, we apologized for the incident and sought their forgiveness. We also ask that of anyone who has been impacted by this picture.

We are working hard as a district to educate our faculty through specific professional development around diversity, and the creation of a Oneness Committee to give a voice to all students, staff, and parents at Christian School District. This incident highlights that more is needed to be done. We are committed to doing more for the good of the district and the glory of God.

The mission of the Christian School District is to assist Christian families in equipping students with a Christ-centered education, empowering them to impact the world for the glory of God.”

School officials maintain the belief that the staff members holding the letters intended to spell out the word “raccoon” but they lacked the rest of the letters. In fact, in an online article written by Jasmine Payoute from CBS affiliate KSDK, Pastor Raymond Horry who is also a parent with children enrolled in the school district provided his input into the matter. The parent said that he thought the staff members were looking for the letter “r” and “a” to spell raccoon but doubt this is true. I doubt this is true, too, because the faculty members would have needed another “c” to spell raccoon correctly. Additionally, in the statement above, it was documented that the staff members held up an abbreviated word that happens to have racial connotations. I believe that school leaders are existing in denial because they believe this ludicrous excuse. Furthermore, what does the word raccoon have to do with a human characteristic anyway?

Racism is pervasive. It is everywhere. The growth of the Black Lives Matters Movement during the summer of 2020, all the incidents of police brutality against Black and Brown people that have increased in recent years, the reports that are surging about hatred acts against Asians in the United States, all historic accounts of racism, and the cries and demands for equality and social justice during recent protests affirms this harsh reality. The actions of each educator who thought it was amusing to proudly display the word “coons” as they stood in solidarity, took a photo, and posted it on social media were deliberate. They had the desire to communicate their ill feelings about Black people. The district-wide statement is unable to conceal the blatant reality that some racist teachers educate children and youth within their schools.

The school district further asks the impacted families for forgiveness in their online statement as shown below.

“We recognize that this ill-informed action caused hurt and offense to many students and families in our school and the wider community. We offer no excuse as to why this word was used. In a statement to families last night, we apologized for the incident and sought their forgiveness. We also ask that of anyone who has been impacted by this picture.”

I have two points to make about this part of the statement.

1. This incident was not ill-informed. The women in the picture are meant to communicate the racism deeply embedded within their hearts. As educated individuals they are alleged to be, especially since they are in the business of education, they knew exactly what they were doing. They spread hatred on purpose. Even though the image was removed from the original social media site, the ignorance of these women will continue to circulate on the internet for the entire world to see for years to come. That image will not be erased.
2. As a Christian, I wholeheartedly believe in the power of forgiveness and endorse it. However, there are people in the world, Christian or not, who believe that forgiveness-seeking will simply remove any harm they have inflicted upon others. Forgiveness does not. Those who inflict harm or pain upon others and seek forgiveness are left to deal with the consequences their actions cause. It is good to know that the district is prepared to provide their staff with some type of cultural sensitivity training and that they will discipline the staff members who were shown in the picture. However, my concern is whether these actions will be enough to remove the racial tension that now exists in the school district so that the door that leads to change will be opened. Sadly, I fear these responses will be superficial such as giving the staff members a proverbial slap on the wrist and allowing them to retain their positions. My fear of superficiality also extends to simply presenting the faculty with watered-down, politically correct training that suppresses truth and lacks systems of accountability that put an end to racism within the Christian School District.

The Real Victims

The script of this racially motivated scenario cannot be flipped so that the women in the picture become the victims based on their newly acquired need for compassion and forgiveness because they got caught exposing their true humanity. Neither should the school district become victimized because they lack the cultural understanding that they seek.

While the district in question must deal with the five racist employees in a manner that reflects the seriousness of their hateful actions, the victims of this school system as well as all the other victims of all the other racist school districts throughout the United States must be acknowledged. This is especially true because the racial problems within the Christian School District are broader and have a further reach than the borders of their schools.

Institutional racism within schools is a very real problem that produces devastating consequences. This type of racism harms three groups of Black individuals. While it would take several volumes of books to explain how each group of individuals is impacted by racism within schools, I have included a list of some of the ways these individuals are harmed.

Black Students

• Some white teachers have historically maintained lower academic expectations for them.
• A higher student disciplinary rate and harsher disciplinary consequences prevail among Black students.
• More Black students are denied access to advanced courses and fewer qualify for placement in gifted and talented programs. Conversely, more Black students qualify to receive special education services.
• Black students are exposed to fewer teachers, principals, and other school leaders who serve as positive role models who look like them.
• Lower high school graduation and college entrance as well as completion rates remain the norm among Black students.
• Black students have been denied the opportunity to continuously experience a robust Black history curriculum instead of a watered-down and weak curriculum like some typically receive during Black History Month.

Black Parents

• Invisibility, another indicator of racism, manifests when teachers and other school personnel fail to address racial issues within the school that Black parents present to them. Racism is affirmed when school officials ignore the existence of racially motivated incidents.
• Black parents are likely to grow weary and give up after continuously fighting for justice and equality for their children within the school.
• Speaking out against racial inequalities within the school may subject Black parents and their children to subtle and blatant forms of retaliation.
• While many speak out against the racial atrocities impacting their children and parental interactions with school personnel, their unresolved fight for equality and equity is unending. Some parents simply retreat into silence because conditions never change.
• Black parents who speak out against racism are often classified as troublemakers and treated accordingly by school personnel. They may be excluded from school-based leadership opportunities given to parents.
• Some Black parents do not speak up about racial issues within the schools because of negative life experiences that they had either in the past as a student or throughout their lives because they do not believe using their voice will matter.

Black Teachers, Administrators, and Other School Personnel Employed in Racist Schools

• Black teachers may be prohibited from teaching a culturally responsive and truthful curriculum that accentuates the Black experience.
• Black employees fear the loss of promotion opportunities, job loss, or demotion if they speak out against the institutional racism that exists within their school or district.
• Black school employees, regardless of their position, may be classified as troublemakers and treated as untrustworthy if they discuss racial incidents within their school or district.
• Those professionals who develop cultural programs and student clubs are forced to remain politically correct by avoiding controversy instead of accentuating truth.
• Team spirit and the notion of collegiality do not exist for some Black school employees because they are forced to work in professional isolation. This is especially true for those who speak out against racism.
• Many Black educators become consumed with sadness because they remain powerless to change the conditions within their school environments. Transfers and resignations are likely to result for these professionals.

Can the Christian School District Make Their Black Parents and Students Whole?

Even though I listed Black school employees as victims of institutional racism that takes place in some schools, the rest of this story is devoted to the victimization of Black students and their parents.

The incident with the five employees at the Christian School District posing for a picture as they happily held the letters that formed the word “coons” destroyed any trust that Black students and their parents had in the school system. The image reflected a hateful display of White supremacy and power among the people whose hearts should overflow with unconditional acceptance and respect for all of the students and families they serve educationally. Additionally, the picture was anti-Christian. Christianity is built upon love. Nothing in the picture of the educators who serve their Christian school accentuated the love of Jesus Christ.

If the Christian School District expects to thrive beyond the example that the five women presented to the world, aggressive and authentic actions must be taken. I offer the following recommendations for doing so.

1. The district leadership must take the lead in responding to the picture.
2. Leaders must assume a posture of humility and acknowledge that they failed not only their Black learning community but their entire learning community.
3. It is appropriate to ask for forgiveness. However, the district leadership must acknowledge their hope that all students and parents would eventually be able to forgive them when the wounds that the image created heal. The leadership should not demand or expect their community to forgive them because the Bible commands that. Instead, they should accept the reality that forgiveness and trust are deeply connected.
4. All district personnel should become committed to reestablishing student and parent trust.
5. Teachers and school personnel must open their hearts and listen to all students and parents who have been impacted by the situation. Regarding Black students and their parents, this includes hearing about and confronting the racism that exists within their schools. The Biblical verse Galatians 6:2 refers to this as “bearing one another burdens to fulfill the law of Christ”. This is what empathy and compassion are. School personnel must be willing to reflect upon their attitudes and behaviors to change those that are unacceptable.
6. The Christian School District must utilize the support of cultural competency and sensitivity training experts to provide help in this area.
7. Simultaneous to this, the district must implement the most aggressive disciplinary consequences for the five women in the picture along with the employee who took the photograph. School leaders must not be intimated by the collective bargaining unit that represents the employees or their attorneys. These racist women need to be terminated from the positions they have held with the district, regardless of their tenure, the type of career they have had, how beloved they are, or how sorry they are. Because the women represent the Christian School District and because the picture was taken on the property of the district, they must be held accountable for the racially offensive and egregious behavior captured in the picture.
8. School leaders must develop policies and a professional code of ethics that prohibits racism. The policies must clearly outline the range of consequences offending employees will be subjected to should they violate them.
9. Relevant policies must be developed for all students along with a family engagement policy that also prohibits racism.
10. The school district must plan a unity event that celebrates the diversity of its entire community before the end of the school year. Sharing various ethnic foods, having fun together, and enjoying music from not only the Black culture but from others represented within the school district represents one way that the Christian School District can build its capacity to become multicultural. This would facilitate healing, too.
11. Most significantly, the Christian School District must be determined to learn from its mistakes instead of simply celebrating when the current racial crisis has passed.

Final Thoughts

Black students and their parents who are enrolled in the Christian School District have been harmed by the five racist women who posed with the letters that formed the words “coons”. While it can be argued by the offending employees and school officials that no malice was intended, it was. That is the reality.

Racism is the only explanation for White women tasked with the responsibility to formulate human, not animal, characteristics out of letters ultimately formulating the racial slur. The fact of the matter is that they unashamedly formed a bold alliance to display their prejudice and solidarity on social media to be cheered on by like-minded followers, friends, and colleagues.

When one thinks of Christianity, the mindset automatically shifts to Christ-like characteristics. Even though the five women are employed within a Christian school that boasts a Christ-centered mission, their racist conduct was anti-Christ.

Black students and Black parents impacted by this incident have lost trust in their school district. If school leaders take the aggressive actions outlined in this article, there is hope that compassion and empathy will ultimately be able to be released to forgive the Christian School District. Forgiveness will be the catalyst that sheds the wholeness required for healing to be unleashed.

I have written several other stories about racism in schools and I invite you to read them. The links are shown below.

Thank you for reading my stories about racism in schools and school districts.

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Dr. Deborah M. Vereen is a retired Teacher and School Administrator. Her website is www.Drdeborahmvereen.com and her YouTube Channel is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS1DPhBeA29UlybU9jzDkdQ