A white New York school teacher allegedly accused of putting up a racially offensive image in a classroom claims she was a victim of racial discrimination herself.
In 2019 an image circulated of a collage displayed in a classroom at Roosevelt Middle School in New York that sparked outrage among the community and school district officials.
The photo, part of a larger classroom display of teachers and students, showed a pair of nooses under a caption that said “back to school necklaces,” alongside the words, “Ha Ha,” “#YES” and a smiley face.
The school district blamed an “isolated group of teachers” for the collage and said “appropriate action” had been taken, according to The Daily Beast.
Years after the incident, Nancy Jones Doering filed a lawsuit against the school district, revealing herself as one of the teachers accused.
It can be, but not in the context it was presented.
Somewhat related, One Halloween I wanted to put a skeleton up in my front yard, so I decided to hang it from a utility pole by a rope around its neck. I didn’t think much of it, but my white neighbor (I’m also white) asked me to take it down because we lived in a historically black community and it could be perceived as a lynching reference.
Personally, I think people should give me the benefit of the doubt on Halloween that a decoration is not a racist display, but it’s not worth to possibly of upsetting people and causing drama so I took it down.
But this wasn’t for Halloween and the area of the school is 50% black while the white teacher claims of racial discrimination against her. This absolutely reeks of a racially motivated act to me and thus a lynching reference.