Parents filing $12 million lawsuit accusing teacher of comparing black students to monkeys

The parents of four black students in New York will file a $12 million lawsuit against a school district after a teacher shared a photo of the children with the caption “Monkey do” during a slideshow shown to their class.

Students at Longwood High School in Long Island, New York, went on a class trip to the Bronx Zoo in November. During the trip, a teacher took a photo of four students standing behind each other with their arms on their shoulders, NBC News reported. The outlet obtained a copy of the photo.

The image was later used in a slideshow during class in December, accompanied by the caption “Monkey do.” 

In a notice of claim, an initial step in a lawsuit, a lawyer for the students and their parents alleged that the image was altered to compare the students to monkeys or gorillas, violating the students’ civil rights, NBC News reported.

The picture of the students was placed between two images on the slides. The first was of a monkey with the caption “Monkey See,” the second was the photo of the students, and there was another photo of a gorilla.

The claim states that the students were “deliberately persuaded, tricked and cajoled” by the teacher into taking the picture and posing with their arms on their shoulders, NBC News reported. The teens were embarrassed when the photo was shown and allegedly experienced anxiety, fear and emotional harm, according to the claim.

One student recorded the slideshow on his cell phone and alleged that he was told to destroy the video or be suspended from school, according to NBC News.

In a Wednesday statement, Michael Lonergan, superintendent of the Longwood Central School District, said the image was “culturally insensitive.”

“Without the intent of doing so, the photo was taken without fully understanding the sensitivity or the hurt it may have caused and reminds us that we must be more aware of the feelings of our multicultural population,” he said, adding that the school will “continue to provide sensitivity training to our students and staff to raise awareness of our cultural differences.”