A white teacher at a public school in New York is being sued for allegedly asking an outrageously racist question to two Black students. According to The Independent, Monique-Gale Messina—a teacher at Eldred Junior Senior High School in Sullivan County—asked the pair if they were “’pure-bred’ Black” in front of their peers.
The lawsuit also claims that Messina inspected the hair texture of the teenagers, who are identified as D.C. and T.B. in court filings. The teens are in the ninth and eleventh grade. The suit was initially filed in New York State Supreme Court in November before moving to White Plains federal court on Tuesday (Dec. 17).
According to the newspaper, the lawsuit claims the school district administrators insisted Messina isn’t capable of being discriminatory because she is part of the LGBTQ community.
The alleged incident happened in February, according to the suit, and the students’ parents “identify as members of the African-American race.”
Halfway through the class, Messina allegedly asked the pair “about their light-colored skin tone and the texture of their hair, and whether each of the infant plaintiffs was a ‘pure-bred’ Black,’” the suit claims.
D.C. and T.B. allegedly reported the educator to the school district which sparked the investigation. The document states that Messina “engaged in an inappropriate and racially discriminatory conversation that utilized discriminatory vocabulary and statements.”
The suit continues “that Messina was not a person of prejudice because, upon information and belief, she ‘ate tacos,’ and… identified as a member of the gay and lesbian community.”
It also says that Messina was not removed from the school and the district did not take any steps to protect the students from further instances of racial prejudice.
According to the publication, D.C. and T.B. have obtained mental health services to cope with the incident and that their families have since relocated to Pennsylvania. According to state data, Black students make up just four percent of the student body at Eldred Junior Senior High.