“Go pick cotton,” some said they were told in class by white students. “It was just always very uncomfortable being Black in the classroom,” said Muna Barry, a Black student who graduated with Ms. Groves and Mr. Galligan. The use of the slur by a Heritage High School student was not shocking, many said. The surprise, instead, was that Ms. Groves was being punished for behavior that had long been tolerated. In interviews, current and former students of color described an environment rife with racial insensitivity, including casual uses of slurs.

Source: New York Times December 26, 2020 17:15 UTC