Students Ask Not To Be Called African-American; Teacher Allegedly Calls Them N-Word

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November 3, 2014

By Leigh Weingus, Huffingtonpost

Last week, an Illinois substitute teacher reportedly called a group of four middle school girls the N-word after they asked not to be called African-American.

Eighth grade students Mea Thompson and Zaria Daniel (WMAQ)

The incident occurred at Jay Stream Middle School in the town of Carol Stream during an eighth-grade social studies class. When interviewed by local news outlet WMAQ, student Mea Thompson, who is of Jamaican descent, said they asked the teacher not to call them African-American since none of them are from Africa.

“She said, ‘It’s the politically correct term.’ Then she said, ‘Well, back then you guys would be considered the N-word,'” Thompson said, recalling the exchange. “We were so shocked and we were like, ‘What? Excuse me? That’s not correct to call us that.’ She was like, ‘Well, back then that’s what African-Americans were called.’”

The teacher allegedly used the N-word several times over the 80-minute class period.

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