Teacher fired over controversial slavery lesson building $1 billion class-action lawsuit

A former New York City teacher is heading to court after she was accused of forcing black students to lie on the floor while she stood on their backs during a slavery lesson. Following her termination in October, Patricia Cummings claimed she was the victim of reverse discrimination and is now ramping up a $1 billion class-action lawsuit. 

“I have no career at this point,” Cummings said at a Thursday press conference, per The New York Post, describing how the allegation made against her have impacted her life.

Cummings claims the accusation that she stepped on students’ backs is a lie, though she acknowledges that she had her students sit close together on the floor to demonstrate the conditions on slave ships.

“Ms. Cummings is a dedicated and competent teacher, who should never have been subjected to these false accusations, which have damaged her career and her reputation,” Cummings’ attorney, Thomas Liotti, told WABC on Thursday. “This is a case of blatant reverse discrimination.” Yahoo Lifestyle has reached out to Liotti for further comment.

The 37-year-old former teacher said at Thursday’s press conference that the testimony of a black teacher who saw the slavery lesson in question will clear her name.

“Anyone who has met me knows I don’t have that bone in my body,” Cummings said. “I was brought up — you treat everybody the way you want to be treated.”

Cummings filed a $120 million lawsuit against the New York City Department of Education and other city agencies, as The Post reports, but Liotti says they’re also building a class-action case with other alleged victims of reverse discrimination. He believes that case is worth $1 billion.

The New York City Department of Education, however, said in a statement to WABC that Cummings was terminated “based on a thorough investigation and a review of her performance as an educator,” adding that it will review her complaint.