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Chicago Public Schools Teacher Suspended For Using N-Word In Class During A "Teachable Moment"

By Chuck Sudo in News on Feb 20, 2012 9:20PM

A white Chicago schoolteacher who was suspended for five days without pay for using a racial epithet in class—in what he called a "teachable moment"— has filed a lawsuit against Chicago Public Schools and his principal, alleging the suspension was a violation of his civil rights.

Lincoln Brown, a teacher with 21 years experience in predominantly African American classrooms on the West side of the city, said the suspension stemmed from an Oct. 4, 2011 incident where he caught two students passing a note to each other that contained lyrics from a rap song that used the "N-word." According to Brown's lawsuit, he then “attempted to give his own denunciation of the use of such language” by referencing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as an example, where the word is used in a derogatory manner.

Brown then alleged that he uttered the fateful word as his boss and principal, Gregory Mason (who happens to be black), heard him.

"I asked them, what would feel if I used that word?" he said. "I used the full word, but I didn't address it to the students. I was very careful about that."

Brown said Mason didn't seem to mind. Two weeks later, however, Mason wrote a letter to Brown explaining that uttering the word was a violation of CPS policy and that Brown “us(ed) verbally abusive language to or in front of students” and “cruel, immoral, negligent or criminal conduct or communication to a student, that causes psychological or physical harm.”

A CPS panel ruled that Brown must serve a five-day unpaid suspension, which was later upheld on appeal. Brown is suing Mason, Chicago Public Schools and CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard, alleging his First and Fifth Amendment Rights were violated. "If we can’t discuss these issues, we’ll never be able to resolve them," he said.

Brown listed his civil rights credentials to media: his father was a former dean of Rockefeller Chapel at University of Chicago and a supporter of the civil rights movement who once met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; Brown was named after Abraham Lincoln; and he said he used guidelines from the Southern Poverty Law Center on how to approach such discussions with students. Parents at Murray Language Academy are, predictably, split on the incident. Some defended Brown as a great teacher who did the right thing. Others said he should never have used the word, even in a "teachable moment."

Brown said if he had a mulligan on the incident, he would do everything all over again.

Chicago Teacher Lincoln Brown Uses N-Word During Classroom Discussion, Sues CPS Over Suspension: MyFoxCHICAGO.com