A Teacher is Under Fire for Asking Black Children in Front of Their Peers if They Were ‘pure-bred’

A white teacher at a rural New York public school is accused of querying a pair of light-skinned Black students about their fair complexions, asking them — in front of a classroom full of kids — if they were “‘pure-bred’ Black,” according to a stunning complaint obtained by The Independent.

Monique-Gale Messina, an educator at Eldred Junior Senior High School in Sullivan County, also examined the kids’ hair texture, according to the suit, which was originally filed in New York State Supreme Court last month before being transferred to White Plains federal court on Tuesday.

The lawsuit alleges that school district officials denied Messina’s bigotry based on her LGBTQ identity, despite protests from two students in ninth and eleventh grades.

According to state records, black students make up 4% of the student body at Eldred Junior Senior High or eight out of 230.

Jay Weinstein, the lawyer defending the two students, told The Independent via email on Wednesday, “I have no comment.” Attorney Gerald Smith, who represents the school district with Messina and Eldred Central School District Superintendent Traci Ferreira, declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation.

The event occurred in an afternoon study hall in February, according to the lawsuit, which notes that both of the pupils, D.C. and T.B., as well as their respective parents, “identify as members of the African-American race.”

Messina questioned D.C. and T.B. about their light-colored skin tone and hair texture, as well as whether each of the child plaintiffs was a “‘pure-bred’ Black,” according to the claim.

According to the lawsuit, D.C. and T.B. reported Messina to the school district, which then started an inquiry. Messina was found to have “engaged in an inappropriate and racially discriminatory conversation that utilized discriminatory vocabulary and statements,” which violates the state’s Dignity for All Students Act.

According to the lawsuit, Ferreira assured D.C. and T.B.’s parents that Messina was not prejudiced since she ate tacos and identified as homosexual and lesbian.

Ultimately, “despite the clear and unequivocal findings” of misconduct, Messina was not removed from the school, nor did the district take “any steps to protect [D.C. and T.B.] from being subjected to further acts of racial prejudice, discrimination, and unwarranted hate,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims that the school system failed D.C. and T.B. by employing Messina despite knowing or should have known that she was a racist and bigot previous to the incident.

The Eldred School District Code of Conduct states that “racism, discrimination, and marginalization of any people or groups of people, whether intentional or not, have no place in our schools, district, or community.” Such activities harm not only the individuals and groups targeted but also our community as a whole.”

New York State’s Dignity for All Students Act, which was passed into law in 2010 and went into force two years later, intends to provide public school students with “a safe and supportive environment free from discrimination, intimidation, taunting, harassment, and bullying.”

A Rochester, New York, public school teacher was placed on leave in 2022 for reportedly forcing Black children to wear shackles and harvest seeds from cotton bolls during a class discussion about slavery.

Earlier this year, a public school teacher in the Boston region was suspended for performing a simulated slave sale while teaching a lesson on the economy of the southern states during Colonial times.

The NAACP chastised a Virginia public school history teacher last week for passing around a piece of raw cotton during a slavery lecture, describing it as “humiliating and deeply embarrassing” for Black kids. Previously, the same school district had gotten into problems for having children pretend to be fugitive slaves during Black History Month.

Eldred halted its varsity football season in 2014 due to a hazing incident including claims of “teabagging,” which is when players rub their testicles in their teammates’ faces.

D.C. and T.B. have since received mental health counseling to help them cope with the situation, according to the lawsuit. Their families have since migrated to Pennsylvania, paying hefty relocation costs. They are demanding damages in an amount that will be determined at trial.