Photo Courtesy of Ayana Harry/Twitter
In the one month that we’re supposed to celebrate, embrace, and cherish the black history that is the foundation of our country, a Bronx principal is allegedly prohibiting staff from teaching black history lessons to students. Principal Patricia Catania has created a hostile work environment since the day she got the job, teachers told NY Daily News.
Catania reportedly singled out black students during a lesson on slavery, telling them to lie on the floor and proceeded to step on their backs to demonstrate the slave trade.
An English teacher at the middle school, Mercedes Liriano, told NY Daily News, “She’s trying to stop us from teaching our students about their own culture.”
Liriano was stopped by the principal while trying to teach her students about The Harlem Renaissance and Frederick Douglass. Intermediate School 224 is 95 % black and hispanic, and she is depriving students of learning their history.
Protests have been held in response to the principal’s new rules, with the support of Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, who called for the principal to be removed. This fight is far from over.
TELL US: What are your thoughts about the barring of black history lessons?
Like TV One on Facebook and be sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter.
