A white middle school teacher is suing New York City after she was fired for forcing her black students to pretend to be slaves during a history class, claiming she is the victim of "reverse racism".
Patricia Cummings allegedly told three students at a predominantly black and Hispanic school in The Bronx to lie down to illustrate conditions on a slave ship, after which she stepped on their backs to show "what it's like to be a slave".
Ms Cummings has been suspended pending termination from Middle School 118 in The Bronx, and is now seeking $120 million in damages - and her lawyer claims her suit could be worth $1billion.
Ms Cummings' attorney has made the bizarre claims that the young teacher is a victim of reverse racism - and that this is preventing white parents from sending their children to Bronx schools, the Daily Mail reports.
"There is blatant racism and reverse discrimination in the public schools of New York City," Cummings' attorney Tom Liotti told New York Daily News. "This is why white parents do not want to send their children there."