LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – A Las Vegas substitute teacher caught using a racial slur in a viral video has been fired, according to the Clark County School District.
The incident happened last week at Centennial High School.
In an email sent to families, the school’s Principal Keith Wipperman said the school’s “number one priority is providing a safe, learning environment for kids.”
Advertisement
Advertisement
The video showed a discussion happening among students standing in front of the classroom. Their substitute teacher stood beside them, and then she cuts them off.
A screenshot from the video that led to the firing.
“I want to know. I want to know why, when black people are amongst each other, they call each other n****, and when a white person says it, it’s like ‘oh my God’. It’s like an act of something, what is that?” the substitute teacher said.
That sentence sparked a reaction among students, some throwing their hands in the air.
Wipperman said the substitute “engaged in a conversation with racial implications that was not conducive to the classroom environment,” and added, “the substitute is no longer an employee of the Clark County School District.”
Advertisement
Advertisement
Tracey Lewis of the Las Vegas Alliance of Black School Educators was made aware of the video.
“Even these kids now are at a point where enough is enough,” Lewis said. “So, I commend the students for them circulating the information, so that the appropriate adults could intervene and help them.”
This type of incident doesn’t appear new for Centennial High School. Data 8 News Now obtained shows in the 2024-2025 school year, there were 17 racially motivated incidents. In the previous school year, it was eight, and this year, it’s been four as of Dec. 1, 2025.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
