A teacher in New Mexico has been reprimanded for a racist remark he made to his student. According to the Associated Press, the incident occurred at Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho, N.M.
Students were told that they could come to class dressed as Santa Claus, a reindeer or an elf. However, when a white teacher noticed a black student dressed as Santa, he told the student, “Don’t you know Santa Clause is white? Why are you wearing that?”
The boy was distraught and told his parents. His father went to the school and reported the incident to administrators. The teacher was reprimanded by the school, but he continues to work at the school in some capacity.
The student’s father believes that the teacher’s remark could signal a deeper trend on how he grades and disciplines students when it comes to race.
The incident occurred several days after Megyn Kelly of Fox News received backlash for saying Santa Claus and Jesus were white while on air.
