A former assistant principal is suing a Virginia school board, claiming that she was forced out of her job for a “slip of the tongue” during a mandatory “anti-racism” training based on Critical Race Theory.
Emily Mais, who was the assistant principal at Agnor-Hurt Elementary School, accused the school district in a lawsuit filed Thursday of pushing her out in fall 2021 after she mistakenly used the words “colored people” as she railed against the training session.
Though Mais apologized for the “slip of the tongue, ”a teacher’s aide, who is black, verbally attacked her in front of all training attendees, the lawsuit filed in Albemarle County claims.
The aide accused her of “speaking like old racists who told people of color to go to the back of the bus,” the complaint claims.
Following that training, Mais said that multiple colleagues told her that the teacher’s aide and her friends were openly calling her vulgar names at work, including ‘that white racist b—-h” and “that two-faced racist b—-h”
Mais complained to the principal that the harassment was causing her “substantial emotional distress, preventing her from focusing on her job, and making it impossible for her to effectively manage the employees involved in the harassment.”
But the principal refused to take any action to address her concerns, the complaint says.
Mais submitted her resignation on Aug. 29 and left her job on Sept. 10, after being forced to apologize to her colleagues in what her lawyers described as “ritual shaming.”
“On information and belief, from beginning to end, the apology meeting was carefully orchestrated by district officials to humiliate, shame, and traumatize Ms. Mais for an accidental slip of the tongue in order to make an example of her and to communicate to other district employees the type of punishment that would occur if anyone dared question the new reigning anti-racist orthodoxy, which is racist at its core,” the filing says.
The 45-page lawsuit filed by conservative Christian legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom on her behalf is seeking back pay, compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorneys’ fees.
“Instead of training faculty members to embrace students of all races, Albemarle County school officials are using a curriculum that promotes racial discrimination,” Kate Anderson, director of the ADF Center for Parental Rights, said in a prepared statement.
“The training sets up a classic Catch-22: It encourages all staff members to ‘speak their truth,’ but when a white person like Emily raises concerns about the divisive content, she is deemed a racist in need of further ‘anti-racism’ instruction.
“Emily believes every person is made in the image of God and entitled to equal treatment and respect and refuses to participate in using harmful ideology to indoctrinate students, teachers, or staff.”
Phil Giaramita, a district spokesman, told The Post in an email that officials have not yet been served with the lawsuit and have not had the chance to review its allegations.
“We are looking forward to the opportunity at some point in the future to responding to the suit’s claims in the appropriate legal forum,” he added.
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