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A Texas teacher was put on administrative leave this week after texting a photo of her foot on the neck of a black student.
According to several outlets, the incident occurred at Lamar Elementary School in Greenville, where 10-year-old Zaelyn Jackson allegedly got on the floor to “stage” the picture. The boy’s mother told NBC 5 that her family had a “hoax” relationship with the unknown teacher and explained the events leading up to the photo.
She claimed the teacher told her son, “Make sure you bring this paper back or I will contact you, and your mother told me to contact you when I have to … I will put my foot on your neck. “
The mother said her son laughed in response and then “made a bet†with the teacher that she would not heed the carefree threat. Several students reportedly encouraged Zaelyn to get down on the floor so the teacher could put her foot on his neck. He did – and the teacher photographed the stunt and sent it to the boy’s mother.
“He lay down on the floor and she must have put her foot on it,” she recalls. “Like I said, I don’t think there was any bad intentions, there was no bad intentions and no matter what anyone says, I’ll stand by it.”
The mother eventually showed it to some of her relatives and the picture was shared on Facebook. The post sparked immediate outrage, as many said the pictures sparked the police killing of George Floyd, a Minnesota black man who died after an officer kneeled on his neck for more than nine minutes. While some are demanding that the teacher be fired for the photo, Zaelyn’s mother says the teacher did not deserve to lose her job.
“She’s a good person, she’s a good woman, I mean everyone will feel the way they feel, and I understand that in today’s society you can’t joke like that, you can’t play around like that, maybe it is I just learned one lesson… â€the mother explained. “She assured me that she would never harm me or my child, and I know she didn’t have to tell me. Her last words to me were, ‘Do me a favor and no matter what happens to this situation, never digress from the fact that I love you, I love your son, and I will never do anything that hurts you all. â€
Demtrus Liggins, the superintendent of the Greenville Independent School District, apologized to the students’ parents and assured them that the district would take appropriate action following an investigation.
“My first thought when I saw the photo was actually disgust and worry about the child in the picture. Again, it’s totally unacceptable, it’s totally out of the norm for our community and expectations that we have here at Greenville ISD, â€said Liggins. “Our community welcomes diversity and we celebrate our differences here and we take the safety and dignity and respect of our students and staff very seriously. So there is no excuse for something like this to happen, although I don’t have all the details for it, as it is being investigated. “
also said the photo was “staged” and that Teacher was suspended pending an investigation by the county. School officials also posted an apology
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