White Teacher Tells Black Student To Respond With ‘Yes Sir, Master’

Shawn McCurtain, a White Des Moines, Iowa, high school teacher, is accused of reportedly asking his Black student Jabre White (pictured) to respond to him by saying, “Yes Sir, Master,” according to The Des Moines Register.

The alleged incident occurred while McCurtain was in the process of directing his students to go to an economics class on a lower floor within the school’s building. The youths were reportedly on their way to take a final exam. According to White, after receiving the instructions from McCurtain, he responded to the teacher by saying “Yes, Sir.” The educator, then allegedly corrected White by stating that what he should have said instead was “Yes Sir, Master.”

White, who is a senior at Roosevelt High School, was highly offended by McCurtain’s alleged racist response. The youth quickly retorted, “Who the f**k are you talking to? You’re nobody’s master and this is not slave days.”

When White’s mother, Nicholle (pictured), got wind of what had reportedly taken place at the school, she was appalled and hurt by the racist comment. Nicholle says she contacted the school’s officials with regards to the bias, and after an investigation, they reportedly deemed White’s allegations as factual.

So why aren’t school officials informing the family as to how the matter will be handled?

Nicholle is upset by the fact that while the incident has been verified, she and her family have not been told how the unnamed teacher will be disciplined — if at all — and this is troubling to them.

According to the school’s principal, Principal Joseph Blazevich, who sent Nicholle an e-mail, disciplinary measures against school personnel cannot be publicly disclosed due to state law. Phil Roeder, a spokesperson for the school district, told the Des Moines Register that any form of bias is frowned upon by the school system, including comments made by a teacher, “To put it mildly, it was wrong in every way you look at it,” he said.

But Roeder also confirmed that McCurtain is still employed by the district.

Nicholle suspects the incident was sloughed off and nothing was really done to check McCurtain’s behavior. The Mom feels the teacher is in dire need of diversity training for his insensitive comment, and if he has already taken a course, then he needs a refresher.

Meanwhile, McCurtain reportedly called Nicholle to apologize, but she felt it was an insincere move. The irate Mom plans on contacting the Iowa Civil Rights Commission and the NAACP.News1