Teacher sues CPS after suspension for slur during ‘teachable moment’

By Tiantian Zhang, The Chicago Maroon

A social science teacher at an elementary school just blocks from the University is filing a suit against the Chicago Board of Education, claiming that the school was wrong when it suspended him for using a racial slur during a class discussion about offensive language.

Lincoln Brown, public school teacher in chicago, suspended for saying "n****r" while teaching about hurtful language
Lincoln Brown, public school teacher in Chicago, suspended for saying the word “n****r” while teaching about hurtful language

Lincoln Brown, a 48-year-old teacher at Murray Language Academy on East 54th Street near South Kenwood Avenue, was suspended for five days without pay last October after an incident in which he used the n-word.

On October 4, Brown intercepted a note passed by one of his male students to a female student with rap lyrics that included the slur, the Chicago Tribune reported. He says, however, that he seized the moment as an opportunity to teach his class a lesson about derogatory language.

Brown is now suing the Board of Education for violating his civil rights, claiming that he was merely attempting “to teach his class a lesson in vocabulary, civility, and race relations,” Brown said in a phone interview.

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