History Teacher Walks On Black Students' Backs For Slavery Lesson

Classroom — A Bronx teacher singled out black students to participate in a lesson about slavery in the United States. Here, an empty classroom is pictured February 22, 2017. Pixabay

A white middle school teacher allegedly walked on the backs of black students for a history lesson about slavery in the United States.

Patricia Cummings, who works at Middle School 118, was teaching a unit on the Middle Passage — an event where Africans were shipped as a part of the Atlantic slave trade — when she called upon a number of black students to participate in an activity. Cummings' activity apparently required for the students to lie on the ground as she walked on top of their backs, New York Daily News reported.

The teacher's lesson, which she allegedly conducted in several of her history seventh-grade courses nearly two weeks ago, was intended to demonstrate what slavery felt like.

Students were reportedly stunned by the apparent lesson that occurred at MS 118, a school that has predominantly black students. The school's demographic consists 81 black and Hispanic children alongside 3 percent white kids, according to WPIX.

"She put her foot on her back and said 'How does it feel? See how it feels to be a slave?'" one student told NY Daily News.

Cummings was reassigned by the New York City Department of Education amid a pending investigation into her alleged misconduct.

“MS 118 teacher P. Cummings shocked & traumatized children in her SS classes when she singled out black students & told them to lie on the floor for a lesson on slavery & then stepped on their backs to show them what slavery felt like...” https://t.co/4WrXvZfpOf
— deray (@deray) February 2, 2018

"While the investigation has not been completed, these are deeply disturbing allegations, and the alleged behavior has no place in our schools or in society," said Toya Holness, Education Department spokeswoman, according to WNBC.

In 2013, Cummings earned a Masters degree in Teaching, Social Studies at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Old Westbury, according to her website. Cummings, who classified herself as a "caring and dedicated educator," reportedly earned a salary $68,934 a year.

"I envision a world where people learn to respect, accept, and embrace the differences between us; the reason why life is beautiful and the history of it captivating," Cummings wrote on her website. "As a teacher, it is my responsibility to teach students well so that they can lead the way to the future."

"My classroom will be a caring, safe, and fair-minded environment that will be the setting for students to blossom and grow as individuals," Cummings added.