- Earlier this year, a classroom on Long Island put noose imagery on display as a part a back-to-school collage.
- On Tuesday, the Roosevelt Union Free School District school board moved to fire two non-tenured teachers who were involved.
- One tenured teacher was suspended with pay.
- In February the display was criticized for containing "racially offensive images," per NBC News
- It's unclear who made the display or why.
Earlier this year, a classroom on Long Island had noose imagery on display as a part an apparent back-to-school collage, NBC News reported.
On Tuesday, the Roosevelt Union Free School District school board moved to fire two non-tenured teachers who were allegedly involved, per the outlet.
A third teacher allegedly involved who has tenure has been suspended with pay. That teacher was previously on administrative leave, NBC News reported. That teacher's case will be ultimately decided on at an upcoming administrative hearing, officials told NBC News.
In February, the three teachers allegedly involved had a classroom display that included noose imagery as "back to school" necklaces as a part of a larger collage. Other images in the collage were print-outs of the words "Ha ha" and "#Yes."
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According to the New York State Education Department, in the 2017-2018 school year, 55% of students were Hispanic or Latino and about 45% were black. This, Mackey said, made the imagery in the display particularly insidious. As the Anti-Defamation League notes, nooses have "come to be one of the most powerful visual symbols directed against African-Americans." Per NBC News, Mackey had previously called for a "a strong emphasis on black history [to] be revived in the schools" to prevent situations like this from happening again.
The pastor told News 12 Long Island that, as of Tuesday, he is satisfied with the action that has been taken.
"The school board's decision is helping us move forward in the right direction," he said. "Of course, the teacher that has tenure has to go through a hearing, but we'll pay close attention to that."
Representatives for the Roosevelt Union Free School District didn't immediately return INSIDER's request for comment.
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