NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – An 11-year-old Black boy was reportedly forced to kneel to a teacher by a Long Island Catholic school headmaster who said it was the “African way” to apologize.
The incident happened at St. Martin de Porres Marianist School in Uniondale back in February, the boy's mother, Trisha Paul, told the Daily News.
Paul said headmaster John Holian, who is white, told her that the Nigerian father of a former student said kneeling was the “African way” to apologize.
Paul, who is Haitian-American, said she was disturbed by the explanation and "felt there was no relevance at all."
“Is he generalizing that everyone who is Black is African?” she said.
Paul said Holian acknowledged that it wasn't standard practice at the school to force students to kneel as discipline.
Paul's son was left “humiliated, hurt, embarrassed, sad and confused” after the incident, she said.
Asked for comment by the Daily News, Holian only said that “we love our students here” and that the “vast majority” of kids at the school are students of color.
Holian was placed on temporary leave amid an investigation by the school, according to the report.