A white tenth-grade student in Virginia is being sued by a Black high school history teacher after the student was caught placing a banana in the doorway of his classroom for months.
Joel Mungo, a veteran history teacher at Menchville High School for 21 years, said he first observed a banana at his classroom doorway in October 2021.
‘A banana was left at my door.’ Mungo told WAVY 10 that the banana was nicely placed in the doorway.
Mungo initially dismissed the experience as a coincidence until it became a recurring occurrence, with the banana appearing in the same position at least once a month.
‘It was certainly a premeditated conduct,’ Mungo determined after six occurrences.
Mungo is one of the school’s few black teachers in a largely white Virginia high school.
Mungo approached school officials, who dredged up CCTV footage of one of his white 10th-grade students strolling down the corridor with the fruit in his hand.
Mungo claimed that after catching the offender, he gave the pupil an opportunity to confess, but he denied any culpability.
‘I gave the pupil the opportunity to confess.’ “Hey, did you do this?” I inquired. He responded, “No,” as if he didn’t know what he was talking about. “OK, go down to the assistant principal,” I said. He only has one Black teacher. He has a total of six teachers. Mungo informed WAVY 10 that no other teachers were engaged.
When Mugo contacted the parents, he said they were initially ’embarrassed,’ but that after the student was suspended for two days, they got ‘irate.’
Mungo stated he took a day off work because he was so upset by the scenario.
‘The year is 2022. It’s absurd to have a hate crime only for the sake of having one. ‘I was sick to my stomach,’ he admitted.
Mungo is now pursuing legal action as a result of the bigoted behavior.
‘I’m really fed up with the bigotry that exists in our society, particularly in our educational institutions.’ The bomb threats, nooses, and bananas are coming from HBCUs and other campuses, and now it’s spreading to public schools,’ he said.
‘It’s time to speak up and tell them that this will not be tolerated.’ I’m sure I’m not going to put up with it. It’s up to you to speak up. You can’t let it go on because it’ll simply keep going on,’ Mungo continued.
Attorney Ali Shahrestani, Esq. told Newsweek that Mungo would probably have a greater case against the school than the student himself in his forthcoming complaint.
‘If I were representing the teacher in this case, I would urge her to consider filing a lawsuit against the school for fostering a hostile work environment by failing to impose a reasonable punishment.’ When a student cheats on an exam or seriously criticizes another student, he should expect a two-day punishment,’ Shahrestani added.