North Carolina Charter School Teacher Resigns After ‘Racially Insensitive’ Lesson, ‘Field Slaves’ Comment

A teacher at a North Carolina charter school has resigned after she told Black students in her class they would be her “field slaves” if the constitution didn’t exist.

The incident reportedly put a spotlight on past racist incidents that occurred but were not reprimanded.

On Sept. 24, Annastasia Ryan, the principal at Winterville Charter Academy, sent out a memo to the parents of eighth-grade students, informing them about the incident.

“On Monday evening, it was brought to the attention of school administration that a racially insensitive lesson regarding the importance of the Constitution of the United States was carried out during an English lesson on Constitution Day,” the memo stated.

The statement revealed the teacher responsible for the lesson and was allowing other students to use the “racially insensitive words” without correcting them “was supported in turning in her resignation and will not be returning on campus.”

Kanisha Tillman, the mother of an eighth-grade student, revealed her son described an incident in which the teacher refused to correct racist comments against Black students in her class.

“A white student had called a Black student a monkey,” Tillman said, recalling her son’s experience.

“When the Black student educated him on that being racist and him not liking it and not to call him that and asked the teacher for support, the teacher turned around and said to him, ‘Oh, it’s OK. We're all a little bit racist.’”

However, when a Black student responded by calling the white student a “cracker,” the teacher threatened disciplinary action.

The incident as well as others were shared on a private Facebook group for parents at Winterville Charter Academy.

On Tuesday, Ryan sent out another memo to all of the parents at the school to address backlash on social media regarding the incident.

“As soon as we were made aware of each incident, we immediately took action. The result was a teacher resignation, and the children involved being disciplined in accordance with our Parent and student handbook,” Ryan wrote.

“These situations concern us, too. Our school culture is built on one of acceptance, love, and respect to serve all children and their families. The inner workings of our school are surrounded by intentional effort to eliminate implicit and explicit bias.”

Colleen Cullison, the spokesperson for National Heritage Academies, the charter school management company, has since insisted they were working to address the issue.

However, Tillman said Parents had a previously scheduled meeting with Ryan for Wednesday, but when they arrived at the school, the meeting was canceled, and the doors were locked.