A middle school white teacher in Texas has been fired after telling his students that he thinks the white race is superior—a claim that was captured on camera.
In a video that went viral on social media last week, a Bohls Middle School teacher in Pflugerville explained to his class—with a heavy demographic of Black students—that, essentially, white is right, Fox 7 Austin reported.
On Monday morning, a letter from Pflugerville Superintendent Douglas Killian said the teacher was “no longer employed” by the district following his “inappropriate, inaccurate, and unacceptable” comments, according to KXAN Austin.
A mashup video of the incident was initially shared by one of the students, @babysizzle808, on Instagram Saturday.
“I have always been raised to respect my elders[.] my parents don’t play about that at all!” the student captioned the post. “This still won’t change me[.] I’m still going to be the same[.] it’s just crazy this happened at my school to me and my friends. Im glad my parents stay on me and taught me how to move in situations like this.”
The video was later shared by the student’s father, @808mafiaboss, receiving nearly 300,000 likes and over 4,000 comments on Instagram.
Rhema Benjamin, an eighth grader present in the classroom during the conversation, said it was her “first time” hearing someone outright admit they were racist. He explained to KXAN that, just prior to the discussion caught on video, the teacher had chastised him for walking into the room wearing a Black Lives Matter sticker.
“He made me take it off,” Benjamin said.
The middle schooler’s mother, Millicent Benjamin, said she was proud of how her son and his friends had responded to the incident. “I am happy the children had enough courage within themselves to be able to get this on tape and be able to report it to the administration,” she said.
The teacher, who has not been identified, was placed on administrative leave on Friday, after the video went viral on social media and was given to the district.
“This interaction does not align with our core beliefs as a district,” a Nov. 11 statement from Douglas Killian read. “The video of the conversation includes statements that we find wholly inappropriate. The teacher has been placed on administrative leave while Human Resources conducts an investigation. The advisory activity was inappropriate, inaccurate, and unacceptable. This type of interaction will not be tolerated in [Pflugerville Independent School District] schools.”
Neither the district nor the student’s parent immediately responded to The Daily Beast’s request for comment Monday.
A Pflugerville middle school Texas teacher is on administrative leave after an “inappropriate conversation” with students in which he expressed his belief that his race is superior to others.
In videos posted to social media of a Bohls Middle School classroom, an unnamed, white Texas teacher and students are seen discussing race before a student asks, “So, you are a racist?” The teacher responds: “Yeah, how many times do I gotta say it?”
Teacher shares his racist ideologies with the class from facepalm
It is unclear how the topic came up, but videos posted by parents and students from inside the diverse classroom show a confrontation about how race plays into grades, who is allowed to use the restroom and the teacher’s belief that people are dishonest about their views on racial superiority.
Across several videos students react in shock at the teacher’s statements, with some students later saying they lost respect for him after he said everybody is racist at some level, to which one of the students responds, “I’m not racist though, I like all types of kinds.”
Posted by the parent of the student featured in the video, an Instagram post about the encounter has received more than 200,000 likes and thousands of comments from surprised, dismayed and frustrated followers.
On Friday, a statement released to media outlets by Bohls Middle School principal Sharon Churchin and Pflugerville schools Superintendent Douglas Killian said the district was aware the “inappropriate conversation” occurred earlier in the week during an advisory class.
“This interaction does not align with our core beliefs as a district. The video of the conversation includes statements that we find wholly inappropriate,” the statement reads. “The advisory activity was inappropriate, inaccurate, and unacceptable. This type of interaction will not be tolerated in PfISD schools.”
According to the statement, the school district Human Resources department is beginning an investigation into the incident.
Additionally, counselors and administrators are available to talk with students, the statement said.
Two weeks ago, Jody Greene resigned as sheriff of Columbus County, North Carolina, after it was revealed he made racist comments about Black employees in 2019. He said he resigned for his “love” for the county and asked for forgiveness as he went full speed ahead on his reelection campaign.
And on Tuesday, he won.
Unofficial election results for the North Carolina county show that Greene garnered more than 10,000 votes to be reelected as sheriff, compared to the fewer than 8,500 secured by his opponent, Jason Soles. His win comes amid significant controversy after the district attorney revealed in September that Greene had made “highly inappropriate and racially charged statements” about Black employees three years ago.
Court documents published by local NBC affiliate WECT reveal that District Attorney Jon David had obtained an audio recording from the State Bureau of Investigation of a phone call Greene was on. The court documents – a petition to remove Greene from office – say that Greene made the comments while he was suspended from office as the state Board of Elections investigated his residency status.
According to those documents, Greene was “convinced there was a leak in his office” that resulted in that investigation, and was heavily focused on Lewis Hatcher, North Carolina county’s first Black sheriff, and Melvin Campbell, a Black sergeant, as well as other Black employees whom he felt had undermined him.
“I’m sick of these Black bastards. I’m gonna clean house and be done with it,” a transcript of those recordings included in the documents reveal. “…They’re gone. I’m telling you. That’s as fair as I’m gonna be. … if they’re not with me, they’re against me. And they’re gone. … If I have to fire every mother f***er out there, guess what?”
“I’m still the motherf***ing sheriff, and I’ll go up and fire every goddamn [inaudible]. F*** them Black bastards,” he continued. “They think I’m scared? They’re stupid. I don’t know what else to do with it. So it’s just time to clean them out. There’s a snitch in there somewhere tellin’ what we are doing. And I’m not gonna have it. …hell is coming.”
The transcript shows Greene continued to say that Campbell and Hatcher would be fired, and that “they’re gonna be guilty by f***ing association.”
The call, according to Greene in a post on the sheriff’s office Facebook page in September, was recorded by his 2022 midterm opponent, Soles, who he said was a captain in Greene’s command staff at the time. Greene claims that Soles was “spreading rumors” to “further incite racial division…to pursue his personal agenda.” At the time of the post, Greene “adamantly” denied “any racial intent or actions on my part.”
@nycrich10 uploaded a video to TikTok that showed an upset Karen approaching an Asian man on the subway, who had his small dog on a leash.
Anybody can see that the dog was incredibly well-behaved, and arguably had much better manners than the woman in question.
She was quick to tell the owner, “You cannot have a dog like this on the subway.”
To which he replied that he did not speak English.
She retorted “Obviously,” and although she didn’t raise her voice or cause a major scene, what was actually obvious was the subtle (or not so subtle) racism in her statement.
She was quite transparent with her real intentions, and luckily another passenger immediately came to his defense, which gave me slight hope for humanity.
Though it seems like much was said, the rest of the words were more or less lost with the background noise of the subway.
At the end of the video is a cute closeup of the small dog in question, who looks adorable and is minding his own business, unlike the Wild Karen who is still arguing with the passenger.
It looks like a few others had joined in on defending the man as well.
If you’ve ever ridden the NYC subway, you know that a small dog on a leash is the least problematic thing on there.
But some people disagree, and after watching this video, I think you’ll find it plain to see that I’m referring to the infamous Karen’s.
Yep, they’re everywhere.
@nycrich10 #fyp #karen #karensinthewild #nyc #nycsubway #dog #puppy #karensoftiktok #gaytiktok #dogsoftiktok
Let’s Take A Look At Some Of The Funniest And Most Relatable Comments:
The dog is like “yo is she talking about me? Like for reals?”
Some people just wake up and decide to be bitter.
I’m glad someone stood up for him. And his dog is so fucking cute.
The dog is all like “Is it me? Am I the drama?”
The student facing assault charges after she repeatedly hurled a racial slur at a Black student on campus early Sunday morning has been permanently banned from campus and could face additional charges, the University of Kentucky president said.
Sophia Rosing – who is no longer a student – was initially suspended on an interim basis, and is now no longer a student, permanently banned from campus, and will not be eligible to re-enroll as a student, the message from University of Kentucky (UK) President Eli Capilouto to the UK community said.
“Although she is no longer a student, we must continue our investigations,” Capilouto continued.
“That includes our cooperation with an investigation into criminal charges filed; our Code of Student Conduct disciplinary proceedings and racial harassment misconduct being reviewed by our Office of Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity.”
“As a community working wholeheartedly to prevent racist violence, we also must be committed to holding people accountable for their actions. The processes we have in place are essential,” he continued.
On Tuesday, Rosing’s attorney, Fred Peters, told CNN that she plans to withdraw from UK in the next couple of days and that she is “very embarrassed, very remorseful, very humiliated.”
Rosing has been charged with alcohol intoxication in a public place, fourth-degree assault without visible injury, second-degree disorderly conduct, and third-degree assault on a police officer or probation officer, according to Kimberly Baird, the Fayette County Commonwealth’s Attorney.
A French parliament session was thrown into turmoil Thursday after a far-right MP was accused of yelling “back to Africa” to a black colleague posing a question on migrant arrivals to the government.
The incident came as President Emmanuel Macron‘s government is promising a new crackdown on immigration amid accusations of failing to stem new arrivals or deport those whose residency requests are denied.
Carlos Martens Bilongo of the leftist France Unbowed party (LFI) was questioning the government on the request by the SOS Mediterranee NGO for Paris‘s help in finding a port for 234 migrants rescued at sea in recent days.
“They should go back to Africa!” interrupted Gregoire de Fournas, a newly elected member of the far-right, anti-immigration National Rally (RN).
The outburst sparked yells of condemnation, not least because in French the pronouns “he” and “they” are pronounced the same, suggesting that de Fournas might have been targeting Bilongo directly.
The RN is the party of far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who challenged Macron in this year’s presidential vote and then led her party to its best-ever performance in subsequent legislative elections, with 89 MPs.
The party was founded by her father Jean-Marie Le Pen but his daughter claims to have overhauled the former National Front into a mainstream force, despite critics who say the changes are only cosmetic.
National Assembly speaker Yael Braun-Pivet suspended the session after demanding to know who had made the comment.
“Racism has no place in our democracy,” responded Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, urging the assembly to sanction the far-right MP.
De Fournas later defended his comment, telling BFM television that the National Rally wants a halt to all illegal immigration after a surge in the number of people trying to reach France from Africa in recent years.
He accused his France Unbowed opponents of a “manipulation” and his party also denied any personal attack against Bilongo, a teacher who was born in Paris.
Le Pen has yet to comment but Jordan Bardella, favourite to succeed her as party leader at a congress this weekend, insisted that the deputy had meant to evoke the return of boats to African ports and accused LFI and the government of “extreme dishonesty”.
But LFI leader Jean-Luc Melenchon tweeted that the comments were “beyond intolerable” and that the deputy should be kicked out of the National Assembly.
A mixed-race Bethesda family has described suffering casual, racist comments towards them, saying a small minority “still live in the ’50s”.
These have been in the form of jokes and being socially excluded.
Medwen Edwards, 43, lives in Bethesda, Gwynedd, with partner Lamin Touray, 39, who is originally from The Gambia.
Microaggressions are “everyday slights, indignities, put downs and insults” people suffer in their day-to-day life, Race Alliance Wales said.
Medwen, a mother of nine, has three children with Lamin – Leo, three, Koby, two, and nine-week-old Aminata.
“I’m very lucky to have him in my life, and the children are too. He is so kind and loving towards us all,” she told the Newyddion S4C programme.
Having grown up in the Ogwen Valley, Medwen explained racism was a rare occurrence on the whole, but her family had experienced microaggressions several times.
“I still get comments now, it’s like some people still live in the ’50s,” Medwen said.
“We only get a few slight remarks. Comments and things like that, but otherwise everyone here is lovely with him.”
She met her partner at the gym in 2017 after the data analyst moved to study computer science at Bangor University.
She believes saying you are anti-racist is not enough, adding: “It’s easy enough to say you are, but it’s usually a different story when it’s time to show it, isn’t it?”
Among the comments include people saying they cannot be a “proper family” because she has white and mixed raced children.
“Your children can’t love each other because they are a different colour to each other,” has been another comment.
Medwen and Lamin decided to share their experiences after their friend Ebehitale Igene was racially abused and assaulted in a nightclub in Bangor.
Medwen says that racism exists in all languages, adding: “I think if a person is going to be racist, then they will be racist, if they speak Welsh, English or any other language.”
Since the racist abuse at the Cube night club, Ebehitale has been suffering from depression and anxiety, and Medwen urged people to consider the feelings of others before making nasty comments.
“It makes them feel like they are worthless. They get so low in themselves, then they are depressed. And it’s not fair at all, just because of the colour of their skin,” Medwen added.
“I want to see tougher sentences so that people have to serve a certain amount of time in prison, and raise the price of the punishment as compensation for victims. We need to show that it’s not acceptable.”
The University of Pacific volleyball team has elected to forfeit its match against BYU after a fan was accused of making racist comments toward a Duke volleyball player in August.
“The volleyball team has decided to not play the November 10 game at BYU,” the school’s senior communications director Mike Klocke said in a statement Monday night. “The team expressed concerns following reports of racist and hostile comments during an August 26 match. Pacific stands with our student-athletes.”
Since the alleged incident, BYU conducted an investigation and found no evidence to “corroborate the allegation that fans engaged in racial heckling or uttered racial slurs at the event.”
BYU released the following statement:
“The University of the Pacific’s decision to forfeit this week’s women’s volleyball match is unwarranted and deeply disappointing. Following the Aug. 26 allegation, BYU conducted an extensive review and found no evidence to corroborate this allegation. As we have stated previously, BYU will not tolerate any conduct that would make a student-athlete feel unsafe in our athletic environments. It is unfortunate that Pacific would make a decision that perpetuates the very challenge we are working to heal in our polarized society.”
The August incident has led to more damning accusations, including Southern California women’s soccer players stating BYU fans directed racial slurs at them after players kneeled during the national anthem in August 2021.
The latest volleyball cancellation comes weeks after Dawn Staley, South Carolina women’s basketball coach also canceled a series with BYU.
“As a head coach, my job is to do what’s best for my players and staff,” Staley said in a statement released by South Carolina. “The incident at BYU has led me to reevaluate our home-and-home, and I don’t feel that this is the right time for us to engage in this series.”
A University of Kentucky student was arrested for attacking a black student worker and repeatedly calling her racial slurs in an ugly episode that was caught on video early Sunday.
The student, 22-year-old Sophia Rosing, was arrested in a campus residence hall just before 4 a.m. on charges of public intoxication, assault, disorderly conduct, and assault on a police officer, according to online booking info. A judge set her bond at $10,000.
Rosing, who is white, stumbled into the university’s Boyd Hall appearing highly intoxicated, according to the student who was working at the dormitory’s front desk.
The student worker, Kylah Spring, explained in a TikTok video that she tried to check on the woman but was instead attacked and pelted with disgusting vitriol, she said
In disturbing videos posted on social media, Rosing refused the help and instead tried to hit and attack Spring while repeatedly calling her the n-word.
“Could you stop, please?” Spring asked Rosing after she tried to take a swing at her, one video shows.
“Nope,” Rosing replied. “You’re a n—-r and you’re a b—h.”
“Oh Jesus Lord, I do not get paid enough for this,” Spring calmly replied.
“I got this all on video,” another voice off-camera said.
Spring and another student tried to place Rosing in a seat, but she swung at them and kicked Spring. She then tried to push a shopping cart at them, according to additional footage.
Spring said Rosing punched her multiple times, kicked her in the stomach and bit her arm while ordering to her to do her chores.
“The girl starts saying things like ‘Do my chores,’ ‘It’s not my fault that you’re black,’ ‘It’s not my fault that you’re ugly,’ and at this point she’s like singing the n-word,” Spring said.
Police eventually showed up and cuffed Rosing, but even that didn’t stop her racist tirade.
Normally, when the US Supreme Court denies a certiorari petition, such a decision isn’t noteworthy. However, when a denial endorses racism, colonialism, and subjugation of millions of US citizens, that is worthy of mention, and condemnation.
In Fitisemanu v. United States, the high court was asked to overturn early 20th-century rulings known as the Insular Cases. John Fitisemanu, who was living in Utah, was born in American Samoa. His US passport noted that he was a non-citizen US national, and he argued that people born in the unincorporated territory are entitled to “birthright citizenship,” which is automatic for those born on US soil.
To clarify, all US citizens are US nationals, but not all US nationals are US citizens with the rights that go along with that status.
The Insular Cases upheld subordinate status of those living in overseas US island possessions. In the heated political period following the Spanish-American War, the high court considered whether the Constitution followed the flag. In other words, the court had to determine whether the inhabitants of the newly acquired lands had full constitutional rights.
In a series of decisions spanning more than two decades, the court concluded in the Insular Cases that these new members of the American landscape did not possess rights that US citizens take for granted. This included the right to vote and representation in the federal government.
Coming to the conclusion to deny the people of these lands full constitutional rights, the court created a legal fiction using an oxymoron, describing these lands as “foreign in a domestic sense.”
Despite the shameful racist underpinnings of these decisions, and repeated efforts over several cases to overturn them, the Supreme Court over 100 years later repeatedly endorsed the Insular Cases, not only upholding them, but effectively endorsing the tortured logic and tragic tenor of their conclusions.
The only justification for making US citizens of the US territories ineligible for federal government benefits programs is that they resided in a colonial possession. Such unequal treatment reeks of naked violations of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.
But sadly, because of the Insular Cases, the is no equal protection for the inhabitants of US colonies.
