Teacher of 30 years uses racial slur in math class, Texas officials say. She’s fired

A Texas teacher has been fired after social media posts said she used a racial slur in front of a class of sixth grade students, officials told news outlets.

The incident allegedly happened during a math class at Bradley Middle School in San Antonio, according to an uncle of a girl who was in the classroom. The uncle brought the matter to light in a series of viral posts on X, formerly Twitter, beginning May 15, one of which was shared over 16,000 times as of May 21.

The man’s niece told him her teacher said the racial slur during class, which disturbed her and her classmates, he said.

The teacher was preparing to play the movie ”Hidden Figures” — a film about Black female mathematicians at NASA whose oft-overlooked contributions were critical to the country’s space program — and the teacher uttered the slur while trying to give further context about the racial climate of the nation at that time, the man said.

The teacher told the class “they didn’t hire (racial slur) … back then,” the uncle said in a video.

His posts quickly gained attention, prompting the North East Independent School District to investigate the claims.

McClatchy News reached out May 21 to the district for comment but did not immediately hear back.

However, in a statement to KENS, the district said it was aware of the incident and was looking into it.

“We do not condone racism and take this allegation very seriously. The teacher is currently on administrative leave and we are conducting a thorough investigation. Once it is complete, we will share what we are able to within the parameters of the law,” the district said.

A short time later, officials confirmed the teacher had been fired, MySanAntonio.com reported.

“As of today, we have completed our investigation and the teacher in question will not return to Bradley or be employed anywhere within our district,” the district told the news outlet.

The teacher, who McClatchy News isn’t naming because they’re not charged with a crime, had been an educator for 30 years and taught at Bradley Middle School for 18, according to the district’s website.

Whatever the teacher’s intentions may have been, the girl’s uncle said the behavior was harmful and had no place in the classroom.

“There is never a context in which a, specifically non-Black teacher, should ever be using or saying that word to a classroom full of young students,” he said in the video.