Outrage has been sparked by a video that went viral showing a white North Carolina teacher cursing at an 11-year-old black child.
The elementary school instructor is seen in the video reprimanding the child and hauling him into a room full of students while claiming that his parents had used domestic violence against him.
Who the hell do you think you are,” Kelly Russell is heard asking the boy.
The video, recorded on February 7, begins with Russell, an art teacher at Ashley Park Elementary in Charlotte, grabbing 11-year-old Kayden Franklin by his shirt and shaking him for a moment before physically forcing him into his seat.
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This is video footage from Ashland Park Elementary in Charlotte, North Carolina. The teacher's name is Kelly Russell, with @CharMeckSchools.
— @KekaAraújo (@KekaAraujo313) February 14, 2023
She assaulted this 11-year-old boy and was suspended with pay.
She needs to BE FIRED AND ARRESTED. COULDN'T BE MINE! pic.twitter.com/jG5eVDQJgn
After he reportedly punched a girl—an event that was not captured on camera—she questioned him about who he felt he was. Russell can be heard yelling at Franklin, while some of the audio is muffled by other kids screaming at the same time. Because he hit a girl she asked him where has he seen a man hit a woman.
“Do you hear me?!” said Russel.
“You’re over here, wandering through my classroom, [unintelligible] a girl trying to fight her,” Russell continued.
The teacher then assumes that the boy’s life at home is marked by domestic violence.
“Is that what your family does? [unintelligible] Your family puts their hands on women? Does your father hit your mother?!” Russell asked as Franklin met her eyes.
Franklin then replies, saying, “She started it!”
Russell responds by saying, “No, she didn’t. She was standing next to me!”
When Franklin tries to speak, Russell yells at him again, “Shut up!”
Russell asked Franklin his age and he told her 11.
The video clip ends with Russell saying to Franklin, “You’re a kid!”
A screenshot from WSOC shows the Charlotte school where an 11-year-old boy was verbally abused by his art teacher.
Franklin’s parents were upset when their son told them what happened at the school, which US News says is 81 percent black.
“I feel helpless as a mother. For my son to come into the house and not feel like he could talk to me,” Franklin’s mother, Cortney Pickett, told WBTV.
Pickett wrote on her Facebook page: “This Kayden my son at Ashley Park Elementary I’m so disappointed. Nothing could hold back my tears when I saw that.”
“He doesn’t even sound the same. He is distant. He just doesn’t have that excitement in his voice. You can tell he’s hurt,” said Franklin’s father, Deon Franklin.
Franklin’s parents wonder what would have happened if video hadn’t been captured of another student hearing someone say, “If that was me, I swear to God.”
“If that video didn’t come out, it was her word against his. Because what she said didn’t line up with what my son said,” Pickett said.
“Your job is to teach and teach; If they’re out of line, get the principal,” Franklin’s father, Deon Franklin, told WSOC.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District confirmed to the news media that it suspended Russell after the incident.
“We have been made aware of this incident and the employee is currently suspended from pay. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools remains committed to ensuring a safe and caring environment for each and every student,” a CMS spokesman said in a statement.
“You don’t have to be in the school system because you don’t know how to keep your cool,” Pickett said of Russell.
Social media users expressed concern about the teacher’s handling of the dispute between the students.
“Hopefully she got fired. I don’t care what your job is, you don’t scold children or make nasty remarks about their families. Disgusting behavior for a teacher,” Lori Jaimes commented.
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