Law Offices of Michael S. Lamonsoff Files A Notice Of Claim
On Michael S. Lamonsoff Esq., the owner of the Law Offices of Michael S. Lamonsoff and his client will speak to the press regarding a racial slur by a teacher to a nine year old student at the West Middle Island Elementary School of the Longwood Central School District, which is a predominately white school. The school’s reaction was grossly inadequate and insensitive.
The slur happened on October 15, 2018, in the art class he regularly attended. The students were given a two-sided mirror and pencils as utensils for their drawing. The assignment was to draw a self – portrait of themselves. Nasaun Jones , was having some issues drawing his nose and asked his art teacher for help. The teacher, drew an oversized nose, into his artwork. Nasaun questioned the teacher, asking “Why did you draw my nose so big?” and the teacher replied that “All African Americans have big Noses”. Nasaun was extremely upset and confused, because he saw how nice Mr. Johnson had drawn his mostly white classmate’s noses. He figured he would do the same for him. Nasaun noticed that he was the only child in the class that the teacher had done this too.
When Nasaun shared what had happened to him at the school with his mother. Naquell Walker and grandmother Roberta Williams they were astonished.
They called the principle. They were stone walled. They were told that the principle was out of the office. They inquired about speaking with someone else in the school’s administration but were denied. Their phone calls went unreturned.
The school, after local media coverage, finally agreed to talk to the Ms. Walker. Notwithstanding her protests, the teacher returned to work after about a week’s suspension. The School tried to appease Ms. Walker by telling her that the teacher, on his own volition, attended a “program”. This was an apparent attempt to avoid any potential consequences, for his actions. The program, that he attended did not deal with any racial sensitivity issues. Shockingly, the school didn’t mandate that the teacher take a racial sensitivity course and allowed him to return to teaching children at the school.
The Law Offices of Michael S. Lamonsoff will answer inquiries and will make our clients available for commentary.