LEESBURG, Va. — A recent incident at Riverside High School in Loudoun County has raised concerns over cultural sensitivity and the treatment of Black students.
The situation unfolded last Thursday during a U.S. history lesson about the invention of the cotton gin and slavery.
Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) confirmed Thursday, that during the lesson, a teacher at Riverside High School passed around a piece of raw cotton.
"It's not just about the piece of cotton," said Pastor Michelle Thomas, the President of the Loudoun County NAACP.
Thomas told WUSA9 she got calls from several parents of Black students who were extremely upset.
"They explained that the teacher left the room and got a stalk of cotton from another teacher, and that teacher that she got the cotton from was a teacher of African American history," said Thomas.
She told WUSA9 that the cotton was passed around, and students in one section refused to pass it to a Black student. Instead, they placed it on the table, calling it "disgusting."
The situation caused discomfort, according to Thomas. "The student felt awkward."
"The kids began making jokes about Black people being enslaved, and it was humiliating and deeply embarrassing for the students involved," Thomas said. "That's why they reported it."
She also criticized the teacher's response to the jokes.
"Her response was inappropriate. It was a no response," said Thomas.
She described the demonstration as insensitive and in poor taste, noting that a better approach could have been used to teach the history of slavery.
"It was a poor demonstration. If she was going to demonstrate or show symbols of, you know, Swastika, she wouldn't bring in a sticker," said Thomas. "I'm not bringing in the Klan hood, I'm not bringing in, you know, the robe of the Klansman. I'm not gonna do that. So, the demonstration, it was, it was of poor taste and judgment, and not only that, it was culturally insensitive."
Parents were officially notified of the incident via email this week.
LCPS responded to the controversy with a statement expressing regret over the upset caused by the lesson, acknowledging the need to ensure safe and inclusive learning environments.
A spokesperson for LCPS sent WUSA9 the following statement. While the Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) district does not believe the teacher had malicious intentions, they are acknowledging the need for improvement.
LCPS Administration is aware of a history lesson at Riverside High School which occurred last Thursday. The lesson was in a US History class and involved a discussion surrounding cotton, the invention of the cotton gin and enslavement. As part of the discussion, the teacher passed around a piece of raw cotton. The lesson was upsetting to some students. This is contrary to what we believe the teacher - and LCPS - strive to accomplish in our classrooms. It is the division's intention to achieve a safe and inclusive learning environment for all students. That is not what happened here and we must and will do better.
It is the division's practice to provide guidance when dealing with controversial or sensitive lessons regarding ways that develop critical thinking skills while also demonstrating sensitivity to the emotions often resulting from such topics. The Division's Department of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility will work with Teaching & Learning to develop further guidance for instructional staff when lessons could potentially be associated with trauma. In addition, the division is and will be reaching out to our community partners to discuss not only the implications from this lesson, but also additional steps that can be taken in the future.
Division policies also require that parents are made aware in advance about learning goals and content when sensitive topics will be discussed. This also did not happen, therefore the division will work to clarify for staff when this should happen in order to ensure parents are aware in advance of potentially sensitive topics in class.
LCPS will work with any students impacted by this lesson to ensure they have the support they need as we move forward.
WUSA9 has been told the teacher involved in the incident is still in the classroom, and while LCPS does not believe she acted with ill intent, they are focused on preventing similar incidents in the future.
This event has drawn attention to LCPS’s previous efforts to address cultural sensitivity. In 2019, the district introduced new policies after a separate incident at an elementary school in Brambleton, where a Black student was asked to play the role of an enslaved person during a history lesson.
Thomas pointed out that, despite the policies currently in place, there is still more work to be done. She emphasized the need for further training for teachers to ensure they are equipped with culturally competent tools when teaching difficult historical topics.
“The policy piece is going to determine the guidance that the teachers get,” Thomas explained. “They will be taught the appropriate uses of artifacts. And then we need to train teachers and make sure that they are up to date with the most culturally competent tools to be able to teach this sort of hard history.”