A California teacher has gotten into trouble after sharing a racist picture in an educators’ group. The picture featured a black child wearing an ankle monitor that the man claimed his school’s students needed. The inappropriate picture has caused public outrage, while the man is now being investigated.
John Solomon, a man appointed as a teacher at the MacArthur Elementary School in Lakewood, left his colleagues baffled after posting a racist picture on a group. In May of this year, Solomon sent the photo to a group that consisted of 11 other educators.
The picture showed a fake toy, which happened to be an ankle monitor. The product, described as “My First Ankle Monitor” on the packaging, showed a black toddler wearing it. “We need this for our runners!” the teacher wrote in the text sent alongside the photo.
The text was met with a disapproving remark from one of his colleagues. “That image is troublesome on many levels,” one of them wrote. “Yeah. I see that,” Solomon quickly acknowledged his mistake in a follow-up text.
A few other teachers noted how the racist photo was a reference to the special education students who usually wander off. Solomon, who serves as the Union Secretary of the Teachers Association of Long Beach, is now being urged to step down from his position.
Outrage after teacher shares image of black toddler wearing ANKLE MONITOR in work group chat https://t.co/jTAdljDvR1
— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) October 3, 2025
After the incident came to light, Solomon was quick to claim that he was not the one who sent the text. The man alleged that his phone was hacked, and it was all the hackers’ doing. The TALB appointed a committee to look into the matter, which concluded the claim to be “simply not credible.”
The three-person committee pointed out how Solomon continued texting like normal in the group even after sending the problematic image in the group. According to a report by The Post, the man labelled the investigation that was carried out as a “KANGAROO COURT.”
Even after the backlash, the man has refused to resign from the union’s executive board. He has reportedly stepped down from his position as TALB’s bargaining committee. As Solomon continues to refuse to resign from his position, people are demanding a recall campaign.
A science teacher from the Long Beach Unified school district spoke about how he was left in “complete disbelief that something so repugnant and racist.” Alongside the TALB’s decision to hold Solomon accountable, the school district has decided to place the man on administrative leave after the locals repeatedly called for it.
“LBUSD does not condone conduct that is disrespectful, discriminatory, or harmful,” district officials noted in a statement released by People. The officials also revealed that the matter is now being investigated.
