Teachers are supposed to protect their students and not say anything insulting in front of them. An example of the latter happened at Madison County High School in Florida where a White teacher used a racial slur in front of her Black students. One of the students there was filming discreetly inside the classroom as the teacher asked them, “Which one of you here was talking about me saying the word [racial slur]?”
The teacher’s question only meant that she said this word before and one of the students talked about it. After she said the word, the Black student who was filming lifted her phone and filmed the teacher and then said, “She just said it again y’all.” Instead of actually apologizing for her action, the teacher asked the students, “Why are you doing this?” This prompted the same student to ask her why she was saying the word.
Of course, what the teacher said caused outrage and it made people search for information about her. This was when they found out that ironically enough she was named the Madison County School District’s “Teacher of the Year” in 2025. In the post announcing this, the district wrote about the teacher named Leslie Fletcher, “Ms. Fletcher is dedicated to making sure every student feels safe, supported, and loved. Her classroom is a place where students are encouraged to grow, take chances, and believe in themselves.” Saying a racial slur in front of her own students doesn’t exactly scream support.
In response to Fletcher’s behavior, the Freedom Reparations Fund Trust (FRFT) and the American Freedmen Legal Fund (AFLF) have filed an institutional complaint. “FRFT and AFLF have issued a formal institutional notice regarding the reported racial slur and inflammatory public statements made by a Madison County High School educator,” they wrote. She should face some consequences.
People Reacting to the Florida White Teacher Saying a Racial Slur
A lot of people were disturbed by what the Florida White teacher said. Her behavior made one person write, “A teacher using that word in front of students is beyond unacceptable,Madison County schools need accountability, and to caution her to avoid spreading hate.” A Black man also said, “Imagine being a Black student and having this person determining your grades, writing sealed letters of recommendations to colleges, and receiving a call for a ‘character’ reference on you. Would she want to see you advance?” A Black woman then wrote in disbelief, “Yo! A teacher actually said that to her students? I can’t even imagine sitting in that classroom. This is straight-up insane.”
Several Black people kept expressing their outrage at what happened as one woman wrote, “GOODBYE LESLIE! I’m tired of this disrespect in America! Hell no, I’m not leaving the country I was born in because of racists. You’re the one who has a problem. When did God come down and told you that you were better because you lacked melanin under your skin.” On the other hand, one person couldn’t believe how there is a lot of racism out there. “It’s [expletive] everywhere, high schools, colleges, everywhere. It’s in the open instead of hidden behind the facade of academia. As a retired educator of 31 years, I rarely saw such raw racism. I apologize to my students and colleagues for being so blind to the truth. Forgive me,” they said. This is definitely unfortunate.
