Mother says child kicked out of school after questioning black history display

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. — A local parent is upset over a display outside of her child's pre-K classroom. It celebrates American history.

The mother believes her child's teacher should be focused on Black History Month. She posted about it on Facebook -- and then her child was kicked out of school.

Kendra Molden, of Lithia Springs, said her 4-year-old son was kicked out of his day care after she questioned the Black History Month display.

"It really is a slap in the face. It didn't sit well with me," Molden said.

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The display reads: "Celebrating American history."

And while it shows black history icons like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Harriet Tubman, it also features several white historical figures, including George Washington, Jimmy Carter and Walt Disney.

"They just put it up for this month," Molden told Willis. "We learn about everyone else's history 11 months out of the year. We have one month."

Molden said the teacher who put up the display is also black. She questioned the message Thursday morning.

By Thursday afternoon, Molden said she got a call from the Neighborhood Learning Center telling her it would be her son's last day.

She recorded video as she and her child were escorted out of the school.

Willis called the school Thursday to get an explanation and spoke with the director's daughter.

She declined to comment, telling Willis the police would handle the matter.

But Molden said the teacher herself jumped into the conversation on Facebook, writing in part: "Go study your history... We are in a diverse learning institution and we do not discriminate..."    She follows up with what could be seen as a threat.

“It really hurts me because my son loves school. He's smart, he's really smart,” Molden said. “He deserves better than that.”

School staff called the sheriff's office to report a disturbance.

While the Neighborhood Learning Center is privately owned, it's also a state-funded lottery pre-K, which accepts subsidies from the state's childcare and parent services program.

Molden said the display is an insult and the decision to remove her son from the school was unwarranted.

"They never gave me a reason, and I asked several times," Molden told Willis.

Cox Media Group