A Texas teacher is accused of giving White students permission to use the n-word. Azariah Fennell, the only Black student in her class at Doris Miller Jr. High School, said the incident took place in December 2020, according to Newsweek.
Fennell alleges a male student entered the classroom and said, “What’s up, my [n-word]?” Another male student responded by saying it was not appropriate for him to use the racial slur. That’s when Fennell says her teacher added, “If Black people can say it, then White people can say it, too.”
Tasha Fennell, the student’s mother, was upset when she heard her daughter’s story. “I just don’t feel like it was [the teacher’s] place to make the decision to say that in front of impressionable kids,” she told local KXAN-TV. The elder Fennell filed two complaints with the San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District (CISD) earlier this year. She also spoke with the district on Monday about the need to be more inclusive and racially diverse in order to avoid incidents like the one experienced by her daughter.
The district has since apologized to Fennell and her mother for the teacher’s behavior. School officials have agreed to provide training for school staff and promised to conduct an investigation into the matter.
The San Marcos CISD superintendent also asked the younger Fennell to serve on a leadership council every month to discuss her concerns about race. Her mother was also asked to serve on a diversity council that is slated to launch in August.
