As many classrooms have opted for virtual learning amidst the pandemic, parents are now able to hear exactly what’s being taught during their children’s lessons. One Black mother became irate when she heard her daughter’s white teacher make disparaging remarks about George Floyd, the 46-year-old Black man who was killed in Minneapolis police custody this May. The teacher had apparently been telling her students Floyd didn’t deserve to be honored after his death.
“I don’t feel that this conversation you’re having with our children is a good one,” the mother said, hopping on the Zoom call to directly address the teacher.
“It’s 2020. You got racist-ass motherfu*kers that don’t care,” she continued. The teacher tried to cut in and defend herself, unsuccessfully, while the mother voiced her concerns.
“Now you’re in school talking to my kid about George Floyd,” she said. “They ain’t got nothing to do with this. You’re having an ignorant, disrespectful conversation.”
“‘He wasn’t supposed to be honored.’ Are you saying this because you’re white?” she added.
At one point, a student — who had a large Trump 2020 sign behind him — popped on the screen to argue, “It has nothing to do with race.”
Due to the teacher’s comments, the mother decided to pull her daughter out of the virtual class for the day.
“I feel as though, since we’re all Zooming, you need to see my face and I can’t come to speak to you about this. ‘Cause right now, my daughter is leaving your class. And if you would like to speak to me you have my phone number; you have my email,” she said before exiting the classroom.
A clip of the conversation, which begins after the teacher’s remarks, has since gone viral on social media. On Twitter, many users sided with the mother for pulling her daughter out of the class.
“As I teacher myself, I sincerely apologize on [behalf] of all the good teachers,” one user commented. “Systemic racism is definitely a thing in schools.”
See video of the confrontation below.