The district said, “This was inexcusable. The language used in the video is neither acceptable nor representative of Paschal High School or any other school..." FORT WORTH, Texas — Fort Worth Independent School District Superintendent Kent Scribner is recommending that a teacher be fired after a video involving a student using “racially insensitive” language has been circulating online. Scribner in a statement Thursday said he was "disgusted by the inexcusable behavior that took place" recently in a Paschal High School classroom. The 3-minute and 18-second cellphone video is grainy in quality. It’s unclear who took the video. The district said the video shows a student repeatedly using the N-word, other racial slurs, and derogatory references during what appears to be a classroom presentation. "There is no place for this kind of language in our society, much less in our schools," Scribner said. "I am appalled by the conduct of the adult in the room and saddened by the message that it sends to our students." “The point is not to be offensive. It’s his interpretation,” a teacher in the room is heard saying at one point during the recording. Scribner said he was is recommending to the Fort Worth school board that the teacher supervising the students "no longer be employed by Fort Worth ISD." The names of the teacher and the student have not been released. In the letter, the district said, “This was inexcusable. The language used in the video is neither acceptable nor representative of Paschal High School or any other school in the Fort Worth ISD.” The district also said staff at Paschal High School along with the administration was taking the incident seriously, and that the appropriate action will be taken after the investigation is over. The district ended the letter to parents by saying it was “committed to preserving an environment where all students feel respected and safe.” While the district didn't confirm what the classroom assignment was, parents told WFAA that students were asked to write and present their interpretations of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. A group of clergy members and community members gathered outside the high school campus Thursday morning. “What kind of school district is this, where this kind of thing is allowed to go on,” asked Michael Bell, as he addressed the video that’s making its rounds on social media. As the news began to circulate, members of an organization called Ministers of Justice Coalition of Texas and the Pastors for Progress also announced they would hold a news conference Thursday to denounce the remarks made in the video. “Who would give such an assignment in the current climate?” asked Pastor Kyev Tatum. Clergy and community members are issuing some demands to Fort Worth ISD. In addition to filing a federal civil rights complaint, they are demanding certain school staff be fired. They are also calling for more district-wide training. The school board met during a special board meeting Thursday evening, but the Paschal High School issue wasn't on the agenda and it wasn't brought up. Reaction to a viral video of a Fort Worth high school student using racial slurs in a classroom presentation has included outrage and calls for the teacher’s firing. Paschal High School and the Fort Worth school district are investigating the incident that occurred in a Paschal classroom, calling it “inexcusable.” Fort Worth school district Superintendent Kent Scribner called the video “inexcusable.” He said “there is no place for this kind of language in our society” and that he is recommending to the school board that the teacher be fired.
Some on Twitter and Facebook have been reposting unedited versions of the video that appears to show a Paschal student saying the slur several times while presenting an interpretation of “Romeo and Juliet.” At the beginning of the video, when introducing the student to the class before his presentation, the teacher in the classroom says that “the point is not to be offensive, it’s his interpretation.” Most on social media seem to be calling for the teacher to be punished with some saying the identity of the student in the video should be made public. Many have called the video disgusting. “Let’s make him famous,” one Facebook user said in a post sharing the unedited version of the video. “He was very aware of how offensive, racist and wrong his paper was going to be yet he proceeded.” One woman called for all the students in the class to be punished as well. “ ... The student reading it should also be accountable as well as the class for laughing,” she wrote in a comment to the school district’s Facebook post regarding the incident. “This can be a cold hateful world but we have to hold people responsible in and out!” another person said in the comments. Several commenters said the parents of the child should be embarrassed. Others said the teacher shouldn’t be fired for something the student said. “Kick the student out!” one Facebook user said in a comment to the school district’s post. Another user on Facebook said that there should be equal outrage for the use of another slur about white people in the video, and some said nobody should be punished if the assignment was to present a period-accurate interpretation of a scene from “Romeo and Juliet.”
Another reply to Scribner’s statement posted on Twitter said the presentation was part of a lesson on how poorly slaves were treated in America.
The teacher at one point interrupts to say that students aren’t supposed to “set this to pre-Civil War” and that they are supposed to stay “true to the source material” before allowing the student to continue. At the end of the video, it appears most students clapped while some said to stop clapping. “I’m not clapping for that,” one of the students appears to say. “That’s literally racist.” This story was originally published April 28, 2022 7:16 PM.
James Hartley is a breaking news journalist at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He’s a North Texas native who joined the Star-Telegram team during a 2019 internship and just didn’t leave. He’s passionate about true stories and loves understated movies, good tea and scotch that’s out of his
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Paschal high school student racial slur video
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