A New York City middle school teacher and part-time actor is suing the city and the Department of Education, claiming that he was discriminated against and targeted at his mostly black and Latino school for being a white educator.
In a Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit, Paugh William Shadow – also known as Dr. Shadow – says that he was discriminated against as a white man at MS 391 in Bronx. The school is located in the West Bronx section, which encompasses some of the most densely-populated residential sections of the city.
Shadow claims that he was falsely accused of corporal punishment, using derogatory language and leaving his post. The corporal punishment charge stems from an incident in which he allegedly marched sixth-graders up and down a set of stairs for more than five minutes as a means of discipline.
The math and science teacher says he “was humiliated in front of his peers,” and claims that school officials “discriminated against [him] due to his gender and race.” He is seeking unspecified damages.
Shadow further stated that administrators refused to back him up on disciplinary matters and did not reimburse him after he bought materials for his science lab students.
According to a now-deleted profile of Shadow on the MS 391 website, he was known around the school for having appeared in a number of films and television shows.
“Dr. Shadow has taught overseas as well in NYC,” the profile read. “Besides Science, Dr. Shadow has a passion for acting and has been on TV shows, commercials, movies and video games.”
Shadow’s IMDB page claims he started acting when he was 7 and has appeared on television shows such as “The Good Wife” and also on Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show.” His Facebook page shows him on the set of the recent Keanu Reeves’ film “John Wick” in a shot with Danny Glover.
