Help me understand the reasons why this teacher got suspended for bringing cotton bolls to class

I came across this headline today. I understand the lesson as being meant to teach empathy to students for what enslaved people had to endure when working with the sharp, prickly bolls, as well as understanding why the invention of the cotton gin created a stronger economic impetus for enslaving people. I am really having trouble accessing the other side of this issue, where the quoted parent says the lesson could “evoke so many deeply hurtful things about this country” for her mixed-race children. I'm looking for other articles, but not finding one that explains it in more detail.

Submitted April 26, 2022 at 10:40AM by littlebugs https://ift.tt/vmdAOfq