US Teacher Fired Over Racist Rant On Zoom Call She Forgot To Disconnect From

A teacher in the Southern California, U.S., is in the news for all the wrong reasons. She went on a racist rant after forgotting to end a Zoom call.

The incident took place in January when the teacher, Kimberly Newman, offered to help a student whose family had complained that their boy had trouble connecting to the school¡¯s online platform while struggling with remote learning.

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Katura Stokes, the student's mother, was grateful for the help. But what happened next is truly shocking.

According to a report in the Washington Post, Newman seemed to have forgotten to disconnect the Zoom call following her session with the student and went on to engage in a racist, inflammatory rant about the boy and his mother for over 30 minutes.

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¡°She¡¯s answered her phone for the first time the entire year¡­I mean these parents, that¡¯s what kind of piece of sh*t they are,¡± the teacher was recorded saying.

Newman, who taught sixth-grade science at Palmdale School District in South Carolina, was fired from her position the same day that the complaint was filed.

The principal had immediately called the district office after the mother called him, and the teacher was placed on administrative leave and later resigned, according to various reports. He also said that the district apologised to the family and offered counselling to the parent and the student.

Also read: Robbers Broke Into Student's House While She Was On A Zoom Call, Caught

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Katura Stokes has now, last week, filed a lawsuit. She is seeking monetary damages for negligence, defamation, and civil rights violations.

More than a year into the coronavirus pandemic, the incident is just the latest in a string of Zoom and online meeting blunders captured by a hot mike and a still-rolling webcam.

Some gaffes were lighthearted and humorous, but this was is rather serious.

Also read: Times When People Forgot To Turn Off Their Camera In Meetings & Got Caught Doing Inappropriate Things