Iowa school employee has been suspended after being videotaped hurling racial slurs at a black student
Iowa school employee suspended after video shows him hurling shocking racist remarks at black student
- The Dubuque Hempstead High School employee has been suspended pending an investigation, the school confirmed
- In a statement, the school said ‘the actions shown in this video are not acceptable and do not represent the values of Hempstead High School’
An Iowa high school employee has been suspended after a video appeared on the internet of him making racist statements against a student.
The employee, who has not yet been named, was caught on tape calling a Dubuque Hempstead High School student the N-word.
The Snapchat video, which appears to have been taken on Wednesday, quickly spread across social media, forcing the school to act quickly.
The footage shows a white male employee wearing a green shirt, facing a black student standing across from him.
“What are you looking at, n—–?” the man aggressively asks the student.
Footage of the incident was recorded on Snapchat before being distributed to other platforms
At the same time, another black student walks out of the room to the right of the employee.
The second student turns around and looks visibly shocked at what he’s heard and the person filming the incident is heard yelling What!’ loud.
The school’s deputy principal, Julia Jorgenson, said the staff member was immediately suspended pending an investigation.
In a message to parents, she wrote, “I want to state clearly that the actions shown in this video are not acceptable and do not represent the values of Hempstead High School or the Dubuque Community School District.
“I spoke personally with many students and parents today, as well as members of our administrative team and staff throughout the building, to emphasize that we are here to support and move students forward today,” she said.
Added: “We strive every day to ensure that each of our students learn in a safe, inclusive learning environment and today, for many, Hempstead has failed to live up to that expectation.”
A mom, Chardonney Miles, who posted the video to Facebook wrote, “So this happened today at my daughter’s school in Hempstead in Dubuque, Iowa.
Then he immediately tried to apologize. Lowkey not even surprised about this mess in this town.’
The Dubuque Hempstead High School employee has been suspended pending an investigation, the school confirmed
In a statement, the school said ‘the actions shown in this video are not acceptable and do not represent the values of Hempstead High School’
One user commented, “I’m honestly sorry this is supposed to be a safe place.
“As if that’s going to traumatize this kid, you see how shocked he was.”
Robert Kimble, founder of the Dubuque Dream Center, a local education-based ministry, told KCRG ‘Our school district is a great school district. It’s only important that if there are still people who think and act like this, we hold them accountable.’
Kimble also advised the students who watched the video not to “forget that there are people who care about you in this community” and to try to “use this as an opportunity to teach.”
Dubuque Hempstead High School did not respond to requests for comment.