New York Teacher Forces Black Students To Pick Cotton, Wear Handcuffs In Slavery Lesson

Rochester City Teacher On Leave For Forcing Black Students To Pick Cotton & Wear Handcuffs In Slavery Lesson

A white Upstate New York teacher is under investigation for allegedly instructing his class of mostly Black students to pick seeds out of cotton and put them in handcuffs in a lesson about slavery.

The teacher, who hasn’t been identified, teaches a predominately Black class. He has been placed on leave during the ongoing investigation.

Rochester school administrators started their investigation after a parent shared a post on Facebook that her daughter was forced to take part in the lesson on April 26.

A Rochester, New York, teacher has been placed on leave, according to a statement from the Rochester City School District Board of Education, after parents alleged he made students pick seeds out of cotton during a lesson one parent said was about slavery. https://t.co/m4ygEGVZ5B

— CNN (@CNN) May 2, 2022

“He made a mockery out of slavery,” the mother of one of the students, Precious Tross expressed to The AP. “I don’t have a problem with you teaching our kids about slavery and what our ancestors went through and how they had to pick cotton,” the mother continued. “Our teachers back in the day told us that, but they don’t bring in cotton and make you pick cotton seeds out of cotton.”

Another student, Jahmiere O’Neal, said, “it made me feel bad to be a Black person.”

Teachers union President Adam Urbanski told WXXXI-AM that consequences should transpire following the “due process” of an investigation.

Writer, Clay Cane also shared his frustration with the incident and posted a tweet on Twitter saying, “Where are the parental rights laws for stories like this — a teacher who makes Black children pick cotton? Stories like this are more frequent than delusional fears of critical race theory… but they don’t make headline news.” 

Where are the parental rights laws for stories like this — a teacher who makes Black children pick cotton?

Stories like this are more frequent than delusional fears of critical race theory… but they don’t make headline news.https://t.co/OYXM5yuNzd

— Clay ‘Critical Thinking Theory’ Cane (@claycane) May 2, 2022