A Florida teacher is under fire for reportedly posting a video showing white students in his classroom, feeding, fanning, and bowing before three black students sitting in chairs.
The teacher at Howard Middle School in Orlando, who is black, is now on administrative leave pending an internal investigation by Orange County Public Schools.
The video’s caption, which included a black fist graphic, read: “Black History Month, The Shortest Month of the Year.”
The video follows three black girls entering the room, where one white student awaits to remove a sweater for one black student as all three sit down in chairs arranged in a row. Behind them, a white student begins feeding them snacks while another white student fans them in the background.
The camera then shifts to the front of the seats, where several white students have gathered around, with one on her knees. All the white students begin bowing with their arms outstretched toward the black students.
Several Libs of Tiktok followers on Twitter called the clip racist and a reflection of left-wing school systems.
One person posted that the makeup of the class, which included mixed-race students, disproved the idea of a racist America.
“This is so incredibly sad to see. There are so many other healthy ways to celebrate & share culture without demeaning others,” the follower posted on Twitter.
“Imagine if it were the other way around. What do you think the response would be?” posted another.
Some, however, applauded the teacher and criticized people who said they didn’t like it.
“The kids are alright, they‘ll remember this lesson, and my goodness are y’all fragile. Triggered by nothing at all, and constantly enraged. Sad, man, sad,” read one Twitter post.
“Good. These spoiled caucasians need to know what african americans slaves (sic) felt, kudos to that teacher for being brave and promoting equity in a way too many are scared to,” wrote another.
The same teacher released another clip, “Problematic Books, ” which grabbed 1.3 million views on Libs of TikTok.
That video appeared to take aim at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ push to remove sexually explicit books from school classrooms and libraries, which critics call book banning.
In the clip, the teacher walks around the room grabbing books—including a Harry Potter book and the adolescent book “Holes”—from kids as they read them. He snatches “The Hate You Give” title, about a white police officer shooting an unarmed black man, from another student.
As he confiscates the books, the teacher says they aren’t allowed. A follow-up video shows him taking away student dictionaries to bring home the same point.
The teacher was mocking two laws championed by DeSantis. The Stop WOKE Act and a curriculum transparency bill were signed into law in 2022.
The Stop WOKE Act cracks down on critical race theory, which labels people as victims or oppressors based on gender or skin color and claims that America is systemically racist.
But another mom said she didn’t like the idea of her child being used as a political pawn and thought the teacher should be fired.
Orange County Public Schools responded to a request for comment by The Epoch Times via email. The district provided a statement on Feb. 17 saying it will not tolerate the use of our children as “political pawns” by anyone, including a classroom teacher.
The statement said that any employee who creates videos or other content with students to exploit them for political purposes would be immediately removed from the classroom, placed on administrative leave, and swift action would be taken to terminate employment.
“I am appalled at the behavior and judgment of the teacher who posted the inappropriate videos using his students as political props,” said Superintendent Maria Vazquez.
“This is not free speech—it is the exploitation of our students for political purposes, and it will not be tolerated in our school district.”
