A Florida middle school teacher faced backlash after a viral TikTok video showed white students being servants to Black students and him removing books banned from the reading list under Florida’s CRT rules.
Ethan Hooper, a sixth-grade teacher at an Ocala, Florida, school, posted the videos to his personal TikTok. They went viral after the far-right Twitter account, the Libs of TikTok, shared them in a series of tweets spurring criticism from conservatives.
Libs of TikTok accused the Hooper of creating the videos to mock the Florida Department of Education and its policy, which Gov. Ron DeSantis backed. However, the Howard Middle School teacher said the videos were not made with a political motive.
“It was in good fun. There was no political agenda behind it. It’s [the TikTok video] being maliciously used, and I am deeply apologetic toward the students and parents of those involved. I am also sorry to the students who weren’t involved,” Hooper said to WESH 2 News. “I want to be an example for them. If this does not match up with what they viewed [of me], I am truly sorry. My heart is for my students and the parents, first and foremost.”
One video started with him saying, “I am about to run on these kids,” He then proceeded to take books out of the students’ hands on the banned reading list.
Another video was titled “Black History Month… The Shortest Month of the Year.” White students were pictured in the video as servants to Black students.
Hooper received backlash and was accused of using the students as “political pawns” after the far-right group shared the photos.
“I am appalled at the behavior and judgment of the teacher who posted the inappropriate videos using his students as…
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