‘UNACCEPTABLE’

Teacher in ‘Slaves and Hobos’ Furor on Leave Indefinitely

An investigation into a newsletter item inviting children to a “We Haz Jazz!” event is underway.

A Spokane, Washington, teacher who wrote a school newsletter item inviting students to come to a event dressed as “slaves, hobos, or ready for a night out to the jazz clubs” is on leave through the end of the academic year, The Spokesman-Review reported. The email of Tamera Knapp, who teaches music at Wilson Elementary School, was at the bottom of the item—which drew condemnation from the local NAACP chapter. Knapp declined to comment to the newspaper about the investigation into the incident, but the school denounced the item as “unacceptable.” At an NAACP community meeting last week, one parent said the school event—titled “We Haz Jazz!”—might have been “misinterpreted” and that Knapp should be welcomed back to the classroom. “We should be teaching our kids that mistakes are made. Sometimes they can be corrected or not. And learn from them and move on positively,” he said to boos from the crowd.