A New York mother is asking for the resignation of a white director who, she said, told her 11-year-old son to kneel while apologizing for not following instructions, later explaining that it was “the African way”.
Trisha Paul told NBC News that she enrolled her two children at the Marianist school St. Martin de Porres in Uniondale, Long Island, New York, because she has a reputation for providing an exceptional Roman Catholic education.
Paul, a hospital administrator, said she pays $ 15,000 in annual fees.
At the end of last month, his son, Trayson, a student on the honor roll, finished one assignment earlier and started another, said Paul. The Trayson professor responded by tearing up his paper and taking him to Principal John Holian’s office for not following instructions, according to Paul.
The director punished Trayson by telling him to apologize while on his knees, Paul said.
Paul approached the director about the incident this month, first by phone and then in a personal meeting, she said.
She said she asked Holian why her son was forced to kneel.
He told her that he had learned the practice from a Nigerian father at school, who told him it was the “African way” to apologize, Paul said.
“As soon as he mentioned the story, I realized that maybe he’s generalizing because my son is black and maybe that’s what he thought the discipline should have been for that behavior, because, simply because my son was black,” Paul told NBC from New York.
No other students have been disciplined in this way, said Paul, Holian told her.
He later said that he regretted that she was upset and said that he sometimes uses the practice with his own children, Paul said.
Paul was not satisfied with the indifferent apology and took his children out of face-to-face classes at school and hired a lawyer, she said. She added that she is not sure if she will re-enroll her children in the Marianist St. Martin de Porres next school year.
“He is hurt, he is humiliated, he feels degraded,” Paul told NBC New York about his son. “He cried and was sad. He just said, ‘Why did this happen to me? Why was it necessary to kneel?'”
“I had no answer, I just stated that it was not his fault that this had happened to him,” said Paul.
“He’s been completely quiet, not himself, just trying to take it all in,” Paul told NBC News.
“Most of the time, he doesn’t want to discuss it. His interactions with family, relatives, friends, anyone around him have changed,” said Paul, adding that she will send Trayson for therapy.
Holian did not respond to requests for comment from NBC News. When contacted by the Daily News, he declined to comment specifically on the incident, but said “we love our students here”, adding that the “vast majority” are students of color.
After the Daily News, which first reported the incident, asked St. Martin de Porres Marianist for a statement in the course of its report, the school sent an email to the parents saying that Holian was on leave while the school was investigating the incident.
The school shared the email with NBC News in response to a request for comment.
“The way he disciplined a student at St. Martin’s was not consistent with St. Martin’s policies and philosophy,” the email said. “St. Martin’s does not tolerate or accept the actions of our principal. The incident does not reflect our long-established values or protocols in relation to student-related issues.”
“We launched an internal review of the incident and reaffirmed in the clearest terms what is the established and approved practice for student-faculty interaction,” said the email.
Paul said he feels that Holian should resign and is calling on the team to take a course on racial and cultural sensitivity.
“If there are other students who have suffered racial discrimination, I hope they will come forward and speak out, because a change must be made,” said Paul.
