Former Phoenix teacher who alleged racism at high school focus of Showtime show
May 30, 2017, 1:11 PM | Updated: May 31, 2017, 11:19 am
(Screenshot)
(Screenshot)
PHOENIX — A former teacher who alleged there was a history of racism at a Phoenix high school is the focus of an episode of show on Showtime.
Cicely Cobb grabbed headlines last year after she claimed there was a history of racism at Desert Vista High School, located near 32nd Street and Pecos Road, in Ahwatukee.
“There’s been a racial issue with Desert Vista High School since the school opened,” she told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Mac & Gaydos at the time.
The school was dealing with the fallout from six students who spelled out a racial slur with their shirts when she made her claim.
Cobb became a talking point not only in the media, but online as well. The Showtime show “Dark Net” focused on the latter.
The episode, which aired earlier this month, took a deep look at how Cobb was harassed on Twitter, primarily by her students, during the fallout.
A trailer for the episode showed some of the language students directed at Cobb online. (WARNING: TRAILER CONTAINS FOUL LANGUAGE)
“In the classroom, I saw the amount of disrespect she received,” a former student said in the trailer. “It was heckling, it was anything really just to take her down.
“Students were so quick to pull out their cell phone, tweet something really quick and then put it away.”
Cobb sued the school for racial discrimination. The school’s former principal, Anna Battle, denied Cobb’s claims.
“There were no race problems at Desert Vista High School,” she told Mac & Gaydos.
Just days before the episode aired, vandals spray-painted the same racial slur the girls spelled with their shirts on a bathroom wall.
