A Missouri school district said a teacher was suspended indefinitely after a student wore a Ku Klux Klan costume for a class presentation.
The unnamed freshman allegedly dressed as a KKK member to portray a villain in a skit surrounding the 15th Amendment on Friday, according to Poplar Bluff District Superintendent Scott Dill, The Associated Press reported Tuesday. The district added the student did not seem to have discriminatory intentions in wearing the outfit.
After letting student wear KKK costume for skit, Missouri high school teacher suspended. https://t.co/Kl58FbSgQU pic.twitter.com/ZJgrLYYOal
— Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) November 13, 2018
The 15th Amendment was ratified in 1870 and declared Americans have the right to vote, regardless of race.
Various groups in the history class covered other amendments in the U.S. Constitution. The teacher was not aware the student would wear a KKK costume until right before the presentation, the AP reported. (RELATED: Border Wall Costume Leads To Administrative Leave For 14 School Employees)
“Because of my lapse in judgment, many of you were hurt and felt uncomfortable,” the teacher’s letter read by Dill said, according to the AP. “I never wanted that to happen. I think of my classes as my family, and I would never intentionally offend or hurt any of you.”
The teacher’s suspension started Sunday. (RELATED: College Stops Tradition Of Naming Graduate Classes Because Of Practice’s Tie To KKK)
The KKK costume received attention after Poplar Bluff resident Brianna Anthony shared a Facebook post on Friday of the student wearing the outfit, according to the Springfield News-Leader. The 2017 Poplar Bluff High School alumna said she was not in the classroom when the incident occurred, but saw the image over Snapchat from a person in the room.
“I’ve never ever heard of a history teacher who said it was OK to use a KKK costume for a project,” Anthony said, the News-Leader reported. “Because when people walk into that classroom and see that uniform, that’s automatically a red flag.”
Dill did not immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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