Brainerd Middle School Teacher’s Racially Divisive Facebook Posts Under Investigation

Kara Hall, a visual arts teacher at Forestview Middle School in Brainerd, is facing an investigation for racially divisive comments made on her personal Facebook page from over the weekend.

Hall said the following regarding protests happening all over the country due to the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police:

“Maybe you should be out there telling them to stop burning businesses if they are such good people? I know all I see are scary, awful blacks robbing businesses that don’t deserve this. They are making it worse for themselves.”

Hall went on to post multiple times afterwards, saying the following comments:

“Are you seeing what the blacks people are doing during this protest?”

“The creepy, destructive, violent blacks we are all across America watching need to be put in jail. I watch black guys carry out cases of whiskey while they smile and laugh-that’s not ok and that’s not protesting-that’s opportunistic, theft and illegal. I don’t see whites doing that in Grand Forks tonight! Wake Up!”

Brainerd Public Schools Superintendent Laine Larson said that they started receiving messages from concerned parents and community members Sunday night regarding Kara Hall’s posts. A petition for her firing was started within the community as well.

The following is the official statement regarding Kara Hall’s Facebook posts:

“The administration of Brainerd Public Schools has been made aware of an employee’s social media activity discussing recent events in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd.

The District does not support or endorse in any way the views expressed in the social media posts that have been brought to the District’s attention.

While the District supports and respects free speech, the social media posts in question contain inaccurate, disrespectful, and divisive statements about the race of individuals who have engaged in looting and other destructive conduct in the Twin Cities.

The overall tenor and content of the posts is contrary to the basic educational mission of the District and is inconsistent with the District’s efforts to create a welcoming and supportive environment for students of all backgrounds.

The District is currently working with legal counsel from the Twin Cities to conduct an independent and on-site investigation regarding the concerns raised.

We cannot comment further on this situation for data privacy reasons.”