A Long Island schoolteacher who was accused of displaying an image of a noose in her classroom is now filing a lawsuit against Roosevelt Union Free School District, claiming that she was cleared of all wrongdoing, but Black colleagues and school administrators are still persecuting her because she is white, according to The Daily Beast.
"The photo, which was part of a larger display featuring teachers and students, showed a pair of hangman’s nooses under a caption reading, 'back to school necklaces,'" reported Justin Rohrlich. "The image also featured the words 'Ha Ha' and '#YES,' as well as a pink smiley face. The school district blamed the collage on an 'isolated group of teachers,' and said 'appropriate action' had been taken." According to the report, three teachers were suspended, and the two who lacked tenure were fired.
The Daily Beast reported that social studies teacher Nancy Jones Doering came out as the teacher in the lawsuit.
Doering claimed that in an Oct. 2022 hearing, she was exonerated. She was also accused of concealing evidence and interfering with an investigation.
Her lawsuit claims she's been blocked from accessing students and that it has caused her "constant anxiety, stress and daily fear to herself and her family." There are "false, fabricated and uncorroborated accusations and claims" floating around the community that she is a "white supremac[ist]."
“Defendants have targeted [Jones Doering] because of her race and have even invited and encouraged members of the community, including [Mount Sinai Baptist Church] Reverend [Arthur] Mackey, to publicly attack, defame, shame and harass [her]," said the lawsuit.
None of the Black teachers were "publicly defamed and had her reputation and name destroyed based on such false accusations," she alleged.
This is the latest in a long string of racial incidents in school classrooms that have attracted national attention in recent years.
In 2022, an Oklahoma teacher claimed that her Facebook account was hacked after allegedly telling a parent to "go back to your teepee."
Last year, in Hartford, Connecticut, a school opened an investigation after a teacher allegedly told the class that teachers could use the N-word but students couldn't.
