Another teacher was caught spewing racism during a virtual class, with the incident caught on camera.
The Fairbanks, Alaska teacher was placed on administrative leave due to comments she made about George Floyd’s murder to her class at Lathrop High School, KTOO reports. While the school district didn’t divulge her name, the footage of the Zoom class shows that her name is Ms. Gardner—or Connie Gardner, a special education teacher.
The district learned of the incident from a parent, with Principal Carly Sween calling the remarks “racially insensitive” in a letter to parents. She continued, “Through ongoing inclusivity training for staff, we continually improve our ability to identify concerns and respond quickly to situations that do not uphold our commitment to a safe, equitable environment.”
In the recording of the class, Gardner openly discusses police brutality against Black people and specifically mentions Floyd’s death at the hands of Derek Chauvin. While Gardner didn’t uphold Chauvin’s actions, she did cast blame on Floyd.
“I do not agree that the Chauvin guy was right. I think he abused his authority, and I think he went too far,” Gardner says. “And I think that he was complicit in George Floyd’s death. I think that many factors contributed to it, and that was one of them.”
“I’m an old white lady and if the cops came up to me and said, ‘Ma’am, put your hands behind your back, you’re going to jail,’” she adds. “I’m putting my hands behind my back.”
She also said that the way one dresses can prevent encounters with the police. “Look at how you guys are dressed. You’re dressed nicely. You don’t look like thugs. You don’t have your pants down around your knees.”
A parent overheard the conversation and interrupted Gardner. “I just disagree with the conversation in whole,” the parent said. “I don’t feel like you’re really able to address with you being a white woman. You know I am a woman of color.” Gardner called the parent “wrong.” The parent then says once again, “I am a woman of color.”
You can watch video from the virtual class below.
*Warning: Video with Racist Remarks Below*
