Rebecca Antinozzi 
Vernex Harding
By Dan Murphy
A Westchester teacher made national headlines last week when she was fired for allegedly holing a mock slave auction in her elementary school classroom. Rebecca Antinozzi, a fifth-grade teacher at the Chapel School in Bronxville, was fired after reportedly having the African-American students in her class line up and having the others in the class bid to buy them as slaves.
A parent of one of the African-American students in the class complained to school officials who decided to terminate Antinozzi. In a statement, Chapel School Principal Michael Schultz said: “After review and deliberation, the Board of Trustees terminated Ms. Antinozzi’s employment, effective March 12, 2019. This decision was made in accordance with the Constitution and the bylaws of the Chapel School. A subsequent formal internal investigation has commenced to include meetings with parents, teachers and staff. With the support of diversity advisors and mental health professionals, a robust, long-term action plan has been simultaneously implemented to address all potential issues and teach cultural competency and racial sensitivity.”
Antinozzi tried to explain herself to Tara Rosenblum on News 12.
“I said, ‘OK, how many of you are African-American?’ They raised their hand,” said Antinozzi. “I said, ‘OK, go line up the door for me, please.’ So they lined up by the door. I said, ‘If you were living during this time, you would be treated unfairly and brought to the new world against your will and forced to work. And basically what would happen is they would say, “OK, let’s bid $10, $20, $30, $40, $50… OK great, males sit down, you’re working in the field; females, sit down, you’re working in the domestic household.’” And that was literally under two minutes.”
Antinozzi further explained that her goal was to “bring history alive” with the classroom portrayal. When asked directly if she held a mock slave auction in class, Antinozzi said, “Absolutely not, it was a false accusation.”
“One of my students said, ‘This is very unfair; how can they be taken against their will? Well, what do you mean, can you show us?’” Antinozzi said. “I teach with my heart, and anyone that knows me knows I have no ill intentions.”
Antinozzi claims that she has many supporters and references from parents at the school. She has also hired an attorney for a possible wrongful termination lawsuit against the school.
A lawyer for Antinozzi issued the following statement: “The portrayal of the history lesson that has been reported is inaccurate, out of context, contains false facts and ignores the overwhelming support of Ms. Antinozzi from dozens of parents at the school, including several letters of support from African-American parents with children who have been taught by Ms. Antinozzi. Ms. Antinozzi loves her students and is beloved by them. To the extent anyone took offense to a small portion of the overall lesson that day that was used solely to emphasize the tragic injustice of slavery, it certainly was never intended.”
While Antinozzi may have the support of parents at the school, her “portrayal” of a history lesson on slavery made at least one student uncomfortable. Vernex Harding said her 10-year-old son was in the class when the “portrayal” was made, leaving her son uncomfortable. “He’s staring at her the whole time, saying, ‘Mommy, my eyebrow was up and I kept staring at her, like, this is wrong,’” said Harding.
The incident also caught the attention of New York State Attorney General Letitia James, whose office is reviewing the matter. “The reports of racist lessons by a teacher at the Chapel School are deeply troubling,” said James. “My office is monitoring the situation closely.”
The posts about Antinozzi’s actions on social media have resulted in the usual dual arguments, in support of her and claims of exaggeration from those who want her fired, and in support of the decision to let her go.
One post caught our attention: “Horrible decision making. Poor leadership. Try that with some Jewish children re-enacting the Holocaust and watch what happens,” posted Ralph Henry under a story by the NY Post.
We do not question Ms. Antinozzi’s dedication to her profession, nor do we question her true intentions, which were likely not filled with hate. But we agree with two of the responses to her actions in class; one from the Chapel School, who referred to “racial sensitivity.” We believe that in today’s day and age, it was racially insensitive for Antinozzi to single out the African-American students and have them stand in a line while talking about slavery.
And the comment from James, who characterized the incident as a “racist lesson,” is also telling. If the highest law enforcement officer in our state calls you out for using a questionable portrayal in your class and calls it racist, then perhaps you went too far.
Unfortunately, for the Chapel School, the same type of sensitivity they called for and we agree with in regard to the improper lesson taught in their school, can also be used against them in a courthouse in the future for wrongful termination.
