A New York headmaster has resigned after being reported for racism.
Per the New York Daily News, John Patrick Holian, the headteacher at St. Martin de Porres Marianist School in Long Island, forced an 11-year-old student to apologise the "African way".
HIs behaviour left the sixth grader "humiliated, hurt and embarrassed", according to his mum.
The student in question, Trayson Paul, was being disciplined after he was instructed to read but instead decided to spend his time completing a different task on February 25.
Take a look at this news report on the incident below:Trayson later told his mother, Trisha, that Holian spoke to him in his office, where he told him kneeling and apologizing was a method of seeking forgiveness.
Afterwards, the headmaster told Trayson that he had learned this method of contrition from the Nigerian father of a former student, who claimed it was the "African way".
When Trayson, who is Haitian-American, informed his mother about what had happened, Trishia was outraged by its racially-prejudicial connotations.
She contacted the headmaster over the phone, and after speaking to him was left with the impression that Holian thought the punishment was appropriate simply because Trayson is Black.
Speaking to New York Daily News about the incident in a later interview, Trisha stated:
"Once he started mentioning this African family, that's when it just clicked. Like, this is not normal procedure. I felt there was no relevance at all.
"Is he generalizing that everyone who is black is African? That's when I realized something is not right with this situation."
She added that Trayson had been changed by the incident, stating: "My son was humiliated, hurt, embarrassed, sad and confused. He reads about things happening because of your skin color [...] he's just trying to process it in his 11-year-old brain."
A later email from school officials to parents stated that Holian had chose to resign after having been placed on temporary leave while the matter is investigated.
CNN reports the email read: "It is important to assure students, parents, and faculty that this incident does not reflect our long, established value of respect for the individual or the established protocols regarding student-related issues."
The school has since confirmed that a new principal is taking over with immediate affect.
