White Texas Teacher Fired After Being Caught on Video Saying His Race Is ‘Superior’

A Texas teacher was fired after videos of him telling his racially diverse class that he is “racist” and “ethnocentric” went viral on social media.

In one of the videos, the white teacher told his class, “Deep down in my heart I’m ethnocentric, which means I think my race is the superior one.”

The result is a back and forth between students and the teacher, with students repeatedly expressing shock. 

“So white is better than all?” a Black student asked his teacher. The teacher then replied, “I think everybody thinks that. They’re just not honest about it.” 

Another student asked, “So you said you are what? You are a racist?”

“I think everybody is a racist at that level,” the teacher said. 

After two Black students respond by saying they’ve lost respect for the teacher, the teacher replies, “You should have more respect if I’m honest.”

The video is one of four recordings of the teacher’s conversation about race and racism with the students in a classroom at Bohls Middle School in Pflugerville, an Austin suburb. All four videos were posted to Instagram by the father of one of the students in the class. One video shows students asking questions about who gets to go to the bathroom based on race, and in another, a student asked, “So, you are a racist?” to which the teacher replied, “How many times do I gotta say it?”

“This shit is sad,” the father, a Texas-based music producer with 1.5 million followers, wrote in the now viral post. “In Austin Texas this hurts my heart to see this. I’m so angry.”

“I will stand up for my child and the other Black and Spanish kings and queens in this video,” said Southside, of 808 Mafia.  

His son, whose Instagram handle is @babysizzle808 also posted one of the videos and said, “This still won’t change me… It’s just crazy this happened at my school to me and my friends. I’m glad my parents stay on me and taught me how to move in situations like this.”

The interactions also went viral on Twitter and Reddit. Filmmaker Tariq Nasheed posted one of the videos and tweeted, “This is the reason why we need reparations and an anti-Black racism hate crime bill.”

In an email to VICE News, Pflugerville Independent School District Superintendent Douglas Killian, Superintendent said that as of Monday morning the teacher is no longer employed by the school district. 

“We are actively looking for a replacement,” Killian said. “We want to reiterate that this conversation does not align with our core beliefs and is not a reflection of our district or our culture at Bohls Middle School.”

“The advisory discussion was inappropriate, inaccurate, and unacceptable; and this type of interaction will not be tolerated in any PfISD schools,” Killian said, adding that counsellors are available for students and families who would like to chat about the situation. 

“We apologize to our students and families at Bohls Middle School for the undue stress or concern this has caused.”

Follow Anya Zoledziowski on Twitter. 

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