LOS ANGELES, March 19 (UPI) -- A Los Angeles charter school has fired two teachers who supported a Black History Month program honoring slain teenager Emmett Till.
Seventh grade teacher Marisol Alba and math teacher Sean Strauss were dismissed over plans to have students recite a poem about Till who was beaten to death in Mississippi in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a white woman, The Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
Administrators at the Celerity Nascent Charter School on the city's southwest side said the program planned by Alba was not appropriate for an assembly of young children.
Strauss was dismissed after signing one of several letters of protest written by the students.
School officials refused to discuss the particulars of the firings with the Times but said the issue highlights the difficulty of providing positive images for students who are often bombarded by negative cultural stereotypes.
