Teacher fired after declining to stop wearing 'Black Lives Matter' mask

A former teacher in San Antonio, Texas, has claimed that she lost her position at Great Hearts Western Hills because she refused to stop wearing a "Black Lives Matter" mask.

As per KENS, Lillian White started to attend in-person training sessions in July at Great Hearts Western Hills and she did so while wearing masks adorned with slogans including "Black Lives Matter" and "Silence is Violence."

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"For about a week and a half I was wearing these masks and no one said anything. A couple of the other teachers came up and asked for some if I had any extras and I made them some," White told KENS.

On a Friday, she said that she received a text from the school's assistant principal that read: "we'd like you to stop wearing these masks anymore, parents will be coming around more and we don't discuss the current political climate."

However, despite receiving this message, she decided to keep wearing the mask anyway.

"This is human rights and it should be something that is promoted at our school. It's an excuse to not talk about it by saying this is politics, talk about it on your own time. It's just an excuse because they're uncomfortable with the conversation," White told KENS.

White was subsequently fired for her decision to keep wearing the mask, and Great Hearts Texas Superintendent Daniel Scoggin provided an emailed statement to KENS about their decision:

"Great Hearts respects the privacy of all current and former employees and as a result does not issue public comment on specific personnel matters. On the question related to face coverings, Great Hearts enacted, in this unprecedented pandemic environment, a policy that face coverings have no external messages. This policy was authored by school leaders and teachers in service to the learning environment of our classrooms.

"Great Hearts was founded and exists today to serve the innate dignity and worth of every human being. We stand with the Black community and all who are suffering. Great Hearts deplores bigotry and its crushing effects on all those subjected to it. Great Hearts is committed to an America where racism, violence, and injustice do not happen, because such acts find no home in the hearts of a great people."

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This comes after a wedding photographer shuts down a bride who demanded a refund over their Black Lives Matter posts.