Headmaster quits in race scandal at America's oldest public school after two black students make video exposing racist abuse

The headmaster at America's oldest public school has stepped down amid accusations she failed to act on racist abuse.

Lynne Mooney Teta, along with Assistant Headmaster Malcolm Flynn, have now resigned from Boston Latin School in Massachusetts following an investigation into the administrations' handling of racial discrimination.

Black students had launched a social media campaign #BlackAtBLS aimed as highlighting the underlying racial tensions at the school in January.

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Lynne Mooney Teta (left) along with Assistant Headmaster Malcolm Flynn, (right) resigned from Boston Latin School in Massachusetts last week

Meggie Noel, (right) president of B.L.A.C.K. at BLS, and fellow member Kylie Webster-Cazeau, (left) posted a video on YouTube last January saying that black students were often subjected to racist behaviour or slurs by their white peers

Meggie Noel, president of B.L.A.C.K. at BLS, and fellow member Kylie Webster-Cazeau, posted a video on YouTube last January saying that black students were often subjected to racist behaviour or slurs by their white peers.

But when they reported the incidents to the headmaster or other school staff, their concerns were ignored. 

They say racial tensions started brewing following the 2014 police killing of black teen Michael Brown in Ferguson.

The shooting prompted fierce debate online among students which deteriorated into racial slurs, Noel and Webster-Cazeau claimed. At one point a black student was even threatened with lynching.

They also claimed that white students would walk through the schools halls saying n***** without 'fear of being reprimanded.'

But when the students confronted Headmaster Teta with evidence of racial abuse, they say not action was taken. 

The students launched a social media campaign at Boston Latin in Massachusetts in a YouTube video in Janurary to highlight underlying tensions at the school

Pair claimed that when they reported the incidents to the headmaster or other school staff, their concerns were ignored 

In March, another student, Destinee Wornum, 16, came forward about an incident last October when she said her English teacher asked her 'what's up my n*****?' during a discussion of Huckleberry Finn at Boston Latin School.

The teen was left 'humiliated' while her mother Rosalind Wornum, who was outraged over the the treatment of her daughter and met with Teta to demand that the teacher in question is sacked.

'That [statement] was cultural incompetence,' Rosalind Wornum, 49, said at the time. 'What was she expecting from making that statement to her? 'Is it standard process in addressing the book?'

The incident, which occurred last October, took place during a class on Mark Twain's classic novel which uses the racist term frequently.

Destinee says her teacher asked her 'what's up my n*****?' before demanding to know, 'how does that make you feel?'

'I didn't know what to say,' Destinee told the Boston Globe. 'She didn't have to direct it to me and make me feel uncomfortable like that.'

Destinee Wornum said she felt confident enough to come forward after fellow students launched the #BlackAtBLS campaign. The campaign also received the support of Boston mayor Marty Walsh, who met with some students to denounce racism in class. 

Boston Latin, pictured, is the first and oldest public school in America, has many famous alumni, and is often considered a feeder school for the Ivy League

In March, another student, Destinee Wornum, 16, (pictured with her mother Rosalind) came forward about an incident last October when she said her English teacher asked her 'what's up my n*****?' during a discussion of Huckleberry Finn at Boston Latin School 

Rosalind Wornum, (left) was furious over the treatment of her daughter (right) and met with Teta to discuss the incident 

Noel and Webster-Cazeau's YouTube video, along with incident with Wornum, spurred an investigation by the school district's Office of Equity, as well as a separate investigation by the Civil Rights Unit of the U.S. Attorney's office.  

Investigators probed seven separate allegations of racial abuse and how staff responded.

A school district report found that administrators acted correctly in six but failed to adequately respond to a student's threat to lynch a 15-year-old black classmate.

In that case, a white boy allegedly called a black girl a racial slur and threatened to lynch her while holding up an electrical cord. 

Investigators say Teta failed to inform the parents of both students. 

The president of the NAACP's Boston chapter said the headmaster should be fired for not having called the police immediately. 

Teta said the student was disciplined but she could not reveal the details as children's school files were confidential. 

District investigators also looked into the incident with Destinee Wornum where they ruled that the teacher's language was 'inappropriate,' but not grounds for discipline. 

In May, Noel, Webster-Cazeau and other members of student activism group B.L.A.C.K. at BLS (Black Leaders Aspiring for Change and Knowledge) released a second video complaining that nothing had changed at the school after the investigations.

In May, Noel, Webster-Cazeau and other members of student activism group B.L.A.C.K. at BLS (Black Leaders Aspiring for Change and Knowledge) released a second video complaining that nothing had changed at the school after the investigations

They said that there had been no mention of their #BlackAtBLS campaign by Teta or other teachers during school and claimed that Teta had also failed to turn up to lunchtime conversations on race.

'The fact that our administration failed to publicly denounce this behavior, or even say something to the students making the comments that was effective, has created an unsafe and racially hostile learning environment for students of color at B.L.S.,' recent graduates Noel and Webster-Cazeau said on the video.

Last week, the headmaster and her assistant headmaster stood down amid the rising criticism of her handling of the incidents.

'This has been a very difficult decision, but one which I believe is in the best interest of our students, faculty and our historic institution,' Teta said in a statement. 'I believe that it is time for a new headmaster to lead the school and carry on the tradition of excellence.'

African-American math teacher Trevour Smith, 29, had little sympathy for his colleagues, saying that if they felt 'unsupported... now they know how a minority person feels.'

Former Boston Latin headmaster and Boston Public School superintendent Michael Contompasis, 76, was named interim headmaster on Tuesday. 

Faculty blamed Schools Superintendent Tommy Chang and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh for refusing to defend staff over their dealing of the racial abuse allegations. 

Assistant headmaster Flynn, in an angry letter to Chang, admitted the school administration's response was not ideal but 'we did good things.'  

Boston Latin is the first and oldest public school in America, has many famous alumni, and is often considered a feeder school for the Ivy League.

According to the Boston Globe, 23 percent of students at the school were black 20 years ago.

It is believed this gave hundreds of African American teenagers access to a top public school, which in turn gave them a better chance of attending an elite college.

However, recent figures show that today, only nine percent of students are black and 12 percent are Hispanic, far less when compared to Boston's two other exam schools.