Teacher goes on racist rant during Zoom call while not aware Black student and parent were still listening

The mother of a Black sixth-grader in California filed a damage claim against the Palmdale School District accusing a white teacher of engaging in a profanity-laced racist rant during a Zoom session her son was on earlier this month, the LA Daily News reports.

The claim, which could be followed by a lawsuit, was filed by Katura Stokes on behalf of her 12-year-old son.

"The horrible comments the teacher made in the video are truly heartbreaking for a mother to hear and for her young son to hear," Stokes' attorney John Taylor said. "It's unthinkable that an educator would mock and belittle this family, and there is no doubt that this incident has scarred them.

"All children are entitled to receive an educational experience free of discrimination, and this video has demonstrated what minority students often face behind the scenes today," he added.

"This video clearly shows that unequal educational experiences for minority students exist," said Neil Gehlawat, who also represents Stokes. "Like many parents whose children have struggled to transition to online schooling during the pandemic, Ms. Stokes reached out for help — and, in return, she discovered that her son was being treated unfairly because of the color of his skin."

Stokes' complaint says her son was having difficulty with the distance learning platform provided by the school. When she scheduled a Zoom call with one of her son's teachers. But when the meeting was over, the teacher, Kimberly Newman, apparently forgot the call was still live and went on a profane and racist rant for more than 30 minutes.

Newman can be apparently heard in the video telling her husband, "Two kinds of pieces of s***. They're black, he's black." She then goes on to say that Stokes' son has learned to lie to everyone and make excuses and that "this is what black people do."

Newman wasn't fired, but has apparently since resigned from the school.