A white teacher tells a group of Black students that he thinks his “race is the superior one” in a viral video shared to Instagram.
In a video filmed last week at Bohls Middle School in Pflugerville, Texas, a white teacher tells Black students that he is “ethnocentric,” which he defines as believing his race “is the superior one.”
“I think everybody thinks that, they’re just not honest about it,” the teacher says to students. “I think everybody’s a racist.” When students confirm if the teacher said he is racist, he says, “I did.”
In response, students look surprised. Multiple students say they no longer respect the teacher.
The video was posted on Instagram by Mello (@babysizzle808), a student at Bohls. On Monday, the post had 4,755 likes.
“I have always been raised to respect my elders,” Mello wrote. “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.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Mello and his dad, record producer 808 Mafia.
KVUE, a local Texas news outlet, reported on Friday that the teacher had been “placed on administrative leave” while an investigation was being conducted. As of Monday, the teacher is “no longer employed” at Bohls Middle School.
“This interaction does not align with our core beliefs as a district. The video of the conversation includes statements that we find wholly inappropriate,” Pflugerville Independent School District Superintendent Douglas Killian said in a statement to KVUE. “The advisory activity was inappropriate, inaccurate, and unacceptable. This type of interaction will not be tolerated in PfISD schools.”
Responses on Twitter to Lewis’ tweet containing the video ranged from disgust to disbelief.
“Ole Mr. Klanmen got to be fired,” @ej11lizzie tweeted.
“Bro they literally let ANYONE become a teacher nowadays and it’s crazy,” @rickmargiela tweeted. “How can you teach & treat each kid equally when you have a racial bias???”
“Run his record. How many Black and brown children are sent to the office, granted detention, or not recommended for advanced/gifted programs?” Ebony Jade Hilton tweeted. “This level of ignorance gets tied to action.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Bohls Middle School via email.
