You can now listen to Fox News articles!are investigating claims that a White teacher instructed his students, most of whom were Black, to pick seeds out of cotton while wearing handcuffs during class.
"I don’t have a problem with you teaching our kids about slavery and what our ancestors went through and how they had to pick cotton," she said."Our teachers back in the day told us that, but they don’t bring in cotton and make you pick cotton seeds out of cotton." School officials haven't identified the teacher. Teachers union President Adam Urbanski told WXXI-AM that"if someone departs from what they should be doing, they should suffer the consequences, but due process has to be allowed first."Tross and Vialma Ramos-O’Neal, who is Jahmiere's mother, said the teacher let white children refuse to take part in the cotton-picking while not letting kids of color opt out.
Tross said that when her daughter balked at putting them on, the teacher threatened to send her to the principal's office or the school counselor.School Principal Kelly Nicastro told parents in a letter that school leaders"take these allegations very seriously," and a statement from the school board called them"extremely troubling."The Associated Press contributed to this report.