Teachers get in heated feud after one hangs black doll from cord

Carl Pasowicz, a history teacher at Whitney Young Magnet High School, as been identified as the teacher who hung a black doll from a cord in his classroom

A white Chicago public school teacher who quarreled with a black teacher after hanging a black doll from a cord at a high school once attended by Michelle Obama has been suspended.

The white history teacher, identified as Carl Pasowicz, apparently found the doll Monday at the Whitney Young Magnet High School unattended and hung it from the cord of a pull-down projector screen at the front of the classroom, according to a statement from Principal Joyce Kenner.

 'The teacher indicated he found the doll in his room and wanted the students to see if someone would claim it,' she said in an email to students obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times. 

A black colleague saw the hanging doll, which was dressed in a blue football uniform, and recognized it as reference to a lynching and confronted Pasowicz.

A video of the incident viewed by the paper shows that Pasowicz, who had been teaching at the school for years, and the black teacher, who has not been identified, getting into a heated argument. 

A white teacher at the Whitney Young Magnet School was suspended after he hung a black doll from a cord in the front of the classroom

Whitney Young Magnet High School principal Joyce Kenner said that administrators are working to lift students' voices in the matter

'Stupid,' said one teacher.

'You're f------ stupid' the other teacher replied. 'You're even more stupid.'

'Shut up, shut up!' the first teacher shot back and says to the students, 'He's wrong.'

To which the other teacher says 'You're wrong. I'm not going to stand up here with you...making me feel uncomfortable.'

 School administrators discussed the incident with staff and students, the principal said.

The issue began to snowball on Tuesday after the black teacher was not in some of his classes.

Students posted to social media to 'free' the teacher and 'start a riot,' according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Students at the Whitney Young Magnet High School participated in a public discussion in the auditorium regarding the incident with the black doll

Administrators and the Chicago Public School system's IX investigators are looking into the incident of a black doll being hung from a projector screen cord in a history classroom

The Whitney Young Magnet High School is Michelle Obama's alma mater (Class of '81) and there's a $4.3 million sports complex there named after her

An online petition was set up on Change.org, which identified Pasowicz as the offending teacher, called for him to be removed because he had for years 'spread bigotry and misinformation throughout Whitney Young High School as a world history teacher. He has been a perpetrator of hate crimes and microaggressions against students and teachers alike.'

The petition alleges other infractions like using slurs against trans people, 'making a mockery of the Black Lives Matter Movement' and asking an Asian person to translate a video of a baby speaking Chinese.

According to the petition, he tried to minimize the impact of hanging the doll at the front of the classroom.

'People are too sensitive these days,' the petition, which has more than 550 signatures, quotes Pasowicz saying.

He could not be reached for comment. 

Late Wednesday, after students gathered in the school auditorium to discuss the incident, the teacher was suspended.

Parent Kimberly Ann Henderson said her daughter will never set foot in the classroom again with that teacher

Kimberly Henderson, whose daughter was in the history class when the incident occurred, said that her daughter will never set foot in the classroom again as long as the teacher is there

Kenner said in an email that administrators and Chicago Public Schools' Title IX office would 'not only investigate and respond, but to elevate student voice in the process,' according to the Sun-Times.

Parent Kimberly Ann Coleman, a public school administrator herself, said that she was angry about what happened.

'I have been furious all day,' Coleman posted on Facebook. She said that her daughter has been bothered by previous comments from the teacher.

'She has told me he has made insensitive racial comments before in class. When he was confronted by an African-American teacher about it an argument ensued- because, of course, he saw nothing wrong with it. I'm livid. I'm mad as hell. But most of all I'm determined that she will never step foot in this class again as long as he is the teacher.'

The Chicago Teachers Union, which represents the two teachers, said that the district must 'provide a safe space for every member of our school communities, which is especially important in a district that serves a student population that is 90% Black and Brown children.'

Whitney M. Young Magnet High School was a formative experience for former First Lady Michelle Obama. It has since had its share of scandals

 'We understand the investigation at Whitney Young is ongoing, but practices that mitigate the harm of racial biases must also be ongoing and consistent in our schools. And any definition of 'safety' must include creating and reinforcing an environment of equity and inclusion for all students, staff and faculty of color.'

Whitney Young Magnet High School, which was the first Chicago public school for high achievers, 'played a foundational role' in Michelle Obama's life, she said during a 2019 visit to the school. She graduated in 1981.

In 2019, the school built a $4.3 million Michelle Obama Athletic Complex with  football, lacrosse and soccer fields, a running track, softball and baseball diamonds and batting cages.

Last year, gym teacher and cross country coach Robert Geiger was removed from the school after several students accused him of making sexually inappropriate comments.

In 2020, swim coach Andrew Parro was alleged to have pocketed $30,000 that he had charged for leasing the school's pool in the years between 2013 and 2016. 

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