Teacher Amy Strickland apologises for re-tweeting interracial couples photo captioned 'Every white father's nightmare Or Nah?'

A senior member of staff at a school in the US state of Virginia has apologised after being accused of re-tweeting a racist image, which caused a student protest and saw her placed on leave.

Amy Strickland, Assistant Principal at Book T. Washington High School, confirmed yesterday that she is on administrative leave after she re-tweeted an image from the ‘OrNahhTweets’ account in June.

The photo depicted seven interracial couples in prom attire, with African American boys hugging white girls. The caption, which saw Strickland accused of racism, read: "Every white girl's father’s worst nightmare Or Nah?".

In a statement to US broadcaster WAVY-TV, she said that the tweet originally posted by the satirical ‘Or Nahh’ Twitter account - slang for ‘or not’ - does not prove she is a racist.

“Media reports suggesting that I am racially prejudiced are one thousand percent false, as my record and my many students, colleagues, friends, and family members who are African American can and, if necessary, will attest. I deeply apologize to anyone I have inadvertently offended,” she said.

Speaking through her lawyer, the mother of two went on to explain that the tweet was posted to her daughter, and was not interpreted as racist as both of her white daughters went to prom with African American dates.

“The “tweet” appeared to me at the time to have been an attempt at good natured humor concerning mixed race couples attending a high school prom,” she wrote.

“I have devoted years of my life to educating students in a predominantly African American school and was named Teacher of the Year for the predominantly African American Portsmouth school system last year. Partly because of my exemplary record of working well and achieving success in an urban school system, I was hired this fall as Assistant Principal at Booker T. Washington,” she added.

The school, named after the 19th century African-American community leader, educator and presidential adviser Booker T Washington, has more than 1,400 students enrolled in 9-12 grades, with 85 per cent of them black, Mail Online reported.

It appears that the tweet posted in June recently came to the fore after students shared it among themselves.

Norfolk School Board members told the news station on Monday that they were unaware of the tweet until WAVY asked them to comment on it.

In protest at the Assistant Principal’s tweet, a group of students staged a walkout at the school on Monday

"I could have been any one of the boys in the picture," Booker T Washington junior Michael LeMelle, who is African-American, told the station WAVY. “And I really don’t see myself as anyone’s worst nightmare.”

The Norfolk branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has since launched an investigation and is holding the school’s administration accountable.

The civil rights organisation said its investigation is not an attack on the teacher’s character and it is not accusing her of being racist, but they are instead trying to understand why she re-tweeted a racist message.

“We hold the administration accountable for their actions. We will not tolerate racism in this city and definitely not in the education system,” stated NAACP President Joe Dillard.

School Board President Dr Kirk T. Houston Sr. said the board is taking the allegations seriously and the administration is “reviewing the matter for appropriate action.”