2nd Manitoba teacher in a month being investigated for using N-word in class
CBC
For the second time in less than a month, a Manitoba teacher is under investigation for using racist language in the classroom.
A substitute teacher used a racial slur for Black people in a Niverville High School class Friday, according to students.
The Hanover School Division confirmed it is investigating and says the teacher in question will not be allowed to work while that is underway.
Isaack Dini, 15, a student at the high school in the southern Manitoba town, says he was speaking to a friend in class on Friday and used the N-word.
He was shocked when the substitute teacher, who is white, repeated it back to him and his friend.
"I said, 'What's up, my N-word?' — just as a funny joke. And everybody starts laughing, and then she [the teacher] asks, 'Which one of you is the N-word?'" said Dini, who is Black.
"I kind of just looked up in shock."
The aftermath was caught on cellphone videos by other students in the room and shared on social media. Those videos were shared with CBC.
In the video, the teacher appears to challenge Dini's use of the word and admits to using it herself.
"I mean, am I gonna die? I said it out loud," the teacher is heard saying.
The students then tell her she is being racist, but the conversation doesn't end there.
"It wasn't directed at anybody — it was literally an offhand comment. It's not an excuse, it was an offhand comment," she says.
Dini said the initial use of the word upset him, but the teacher escalated the situation.
"She was trying to explain to me that she was allowed to say it, and that's what got me pissed off," he said.