A Long Island mother says that the white principal of her son’s Catholic school forced the 11-year-old black student to kneel while apologizing and later explained that the punishment was an “African way”.
UNIONDALE, NY – The white principal of a Catholic school in New York forced an 11-year-old black student to kneel while apologizing to a teacher and later explained that the punishment was an “African style”, said the boy’s mother.
Principal John Holian of the Marianist school St. Martin de Porres on Long Island was put on temporary leave after the details of the February 25 incident came to light, the Daily News reported.
The student’s mother, Trisha Paul, told the newspaper that her son, Trayson, finished reading earlier that day and took on another assignment.
Paul said the boy’s English teacher scolded Trayson for working on the wrong task, tore up the paper and took him to Holian’s office, where the principal told the sixth grader to kneel and apologize to the teacher.
Paul said he called the school on March 1 and asked Holian if forcing students to kneel was standard disciplinary practice.
Holian said no, but added that he learned the approach from a Nigerian father who said it was an “African way” to apologize, Paul said.
“As soon as he started mentioning this African family, that’s when everything started to happen,” Paul, who is Haitian-American, told the newspaper. “Like, this is not a normal procedure. I felt that there was no relevance at all. Is he generalizing that everyone who is black is African? That was when I realized that something was not right in this situation. “
The newspaper said that after conducting investigations into forced kneeling, school officials sent an email to parents saying that Holian had been placed on temporary leave pending an investigation.
“I want to assure you that St. Martin’s does not tolerate or accept the actions of our director,” wrote interim director James Conway in the email on Friday. “The incident does not reflect our long-established values or protocols with respect to student-related issues.”
The newspaper said that Holian himself declined to comment on the details of Paul’s complaint, saying only that “we love our students here” and noting that the “vast majority” are students of color.
Paul said his normally outgoing son has been reserved since the incident.
“My son was humiliated, hurt, ashamed, sad and confused,” she said. “He reads about things that happen because of the color of his skin. To try. … he’s just trying to process it in his 11-year-old brain. “