A Massachusetts Montessori school apologized and fired a teacher for instructing young children to make and wear Blackface masks as a Black History Month project. The incident, which happened in a classroom with toddlers, took place last Tuesday at IC Kids in Newton. When one mother, Nadirah Pierce, picked up her children and learned what had happened, she complained and…
"While wording of Facebook apology was not the best statement, we were trying to send a message to say that research for toddler curriculum was not executed or completed in the manner that It [sic] should have been, so we apologize to every and anyone this may have offended," the statement said.
The school's Facebook account appears to have since been deactivated. School officials did not speak with NBC10 Boston on camera, but the mother who pulled her child from school criticized the school's statement. “Having children participate in an activity in which they draw Black faces is shameful,” said Professor Johnnie Hamilton-Mason, who teaches dynamics of racism at Simmons University
"It makes fun of them, they’re not really human, they’re human, but they’re less than human," she said.
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