Local teacher made racial remarks during video class
Poinciana H.S. says an investigation is being conducted
An Osceola County School District teacher was removed from her position and reassigned after video of her making racially charged statements about Black people and criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement during a Monday online class was shared across social media.
In the video, the teacher, identified by the district as Tracey Brown, describes being attacked by a gang while riding a train in
Atlanta and said the people who attacked her used the “language of Blacks.”
“I have as much right as anybody else to dislike Blacks for what happened to me,” she said. “So you don’t get to sit there and preach to me what I do and don’t know.”
District Spokeswoman Dana Schafer said Brown was a social studies teacher at Poinciana High School.
Schafer said Brown’s new position is outside the classroom where she does not interact with students while the school district’s human resources department investigates the incident.
Brown will remain in that position until the investigation concludes, Schafer said.
In footage of the class shared online, Brown and her students appear to be having a discussion about police brutality directed toward the Black community when Brown’s comments start.
“You’ve never had to go through that struggle, but there are some Black people that live in communities where the cops do not treat them right, do you understand?” An unidentified student asks.
The teacher interrupts him to tell the class she was attacked “by a gang … [speaking the] language of Blacks” in Atlanta when she was 16.
In additional footage of the interaction posted by a Poinciana High School student, Brown refers to protests held over the
summer over the death of George Floyd as “riots.” She said she is “thrilled” that students see a different side of the movement, but expresses she cannot agree with its sentiment.
“I was raised that skin tone is nothing but pigment. It has nothing to do with who you are on the inside,” Brown said.
Schafer said the school district became aware of Brown’s comments on Tuesday after someone submitted footage from the class through the “Let’s Talk!” communications portal on the district’s website.
The district has received several complaints about Brown since the video began circulating online.
“We’ve certainly heard from individuals, and the teacher’s statements absolutely do not reflect any belief that is held by the Osceola School District,” Schafer said.
Janessa Cruz, 17, a senior at Poinciana High School, shared the videos online and started a petition Tuesday demanding the school district discipline Brown after friends who attended Brown’s class shared the video with her.
By Wednesday, the petition gathered over 1,700 signatures.
Janessa said she saw starting the petition as the best way to draw the school district’s attention toward the issue.
Brown has a “significant role” in the school and also coaches the women’s wrestling team, Janessa said.
“That’s someone that you look up to,” she added.
While not surprised by Brown’s comments, Janessa said she was hurt by the things Brown said and upset with the way she interrupted her students in a condescending manner.
Teachers should encourage productive, open conversations about race instead of dismissing students’ viewpoints, Janessa said.
“I see my school as a place where we can start these types of discussions and share opinions and swap them,” she said. “I’ve always felt that way about my school because of our diverse student body, but in order for that to happen, there has to be mutual respect.”
Brown did not immediately reply when reached by email Wednesday evening.