White Tennessee high school teacher is suspended after he was filmed repeatedly using n-word in front of distressed students while insisting he found the term abhorrent

A white teacher at South Doyle High School in Tennessee was recorded repeatedly using the n-word in front of distressed students who said they felt ‘highly disrespected’ by his actions.

Sanford Graves has been suspended with pay, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel, after several videos of him using the offensive term were posted online

In one video, one student who appears to be black tries to tell the teacher he should not use the term and becomes visibly distressed by the situation, even as the educator says he believes the word is ‘derogatory’ and ‘terrible.’

Graves, a high school science teacher, attempts to say ‘it’s in the English language’ and he doesn’t ‘care if it’s cool’ for him to say it roughly half a dozen times.

The teacher was allegedly attempting to repeat something a student had stated, saying: ‘He said, “Mr. Graves, why aren’t you calling out any of these other n***as.”‘

In the video, other students can be heard exasperated by the use of the term and the clips sparked heavy backlash online with parents calling for the man to be fired.

The incident occurred inside the Knoxville high school on March 27.

Several students in the sophomore chemistry class said Graves had called out a student for being loud, who then responded by asking Graves: ‘Why aren’t you calling out any of these other n***as.’

Malayia Pelcher, who was in the class, told Knox Sentinel News she was shocked and hurt by the exchange inside a classroom.

‘The whole thing made me feel like our teacher doesn’t care about us,’ Pelcher said.

‘Why would you say that to us as a class when we didn’t do anything to you?’ the teen told the Tennessee outlet.

The videos show that one particular student was trying to explain to Graves why he, as a white man, should not be using the n-word. .

The black student who goes back and forth with the teacher at one point says, ‘ask anyone in here, I guarantee you these other white people aren’t saying it.’

That’s when the student who is recording responds, ‘never,’ to the other student’s prompt.

‘I don’t care,’ Graves responds. ‘You can say a word in the English language.’

‘It’s derogatory,’ Graves can be heard saying in another clip that does not show his face. ‘I think it’s terrible.’

According to the Tennessee Department of Education, 26 percent of students at South-Doyle High School are students of color.

That video was posted to Facebook by Jennifer Lawson who identifies her daughter, Bella, as the one who took the videos in the class.

‘PLEASE watch! I CANNOT believe what happened at Bella’s school. She took these clips! Teacher BETTER get fired!! INSANE!’ Lawson wrote on Facebook.

In another video, the clip continues on and other students yell back at the teacher, telling him to stop.

‘You can’t say that s**t, what the hell,’ one student exclaims.

‘Don’t say that,’ yells out one child.

‘Stop saying it,’ another cries out.

One clip shows another adult in the room speaking with the teacher as he explains the situation but continues to use the racially-charged word.

A video posted to TikTok compiling several clips has received almost 10,000 views as of Wednesday evening.

The videos have gained mass attention online from parents and outraged citizens calling for the teacher to resign or be fired from his position.