A class of sixth-graders in North Carolina assigned to study an image that featured a sexually explicit act as part of an assignment for art class has left their parents fuming. 

Students at Kennedy Middle School in Charlotte, North Carolina were assigned to study a piece of art by Kara Walker titled: 'Gone: An Historical Romance of a Civil War as It Occurred b'tween the Dusky Thighs of One Young Negress and Her Heart.' 

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district has pulled the imagery, but some parents still have questions why their middle schoolers were told to study an art piece with a sexually explicit act.  

Parent Samantha Davis 'was shocked' when she noticed the inappropriate image among her daughter's school assignments. 

She told WSOC: 'I didn't think I needed to look up what my child was learning in an art class.'

'I understand the topic being appropriate for college and adults. I don't find this artist and what she depicts as something age-appropriate for middle school kids to see.'

Principal Kevin Sudimack sent a message to the parents after he was made aware of the image: 'It was brought to my attention that there were some inappropriate artist images that were inadvertently included in a 6th grade art lesson while the teacher is on maternity leave. I worked with the art teacher to have the pictures removed from the CANVAS platform.'

While Davis appreciates that the image has been pulled from the curriculum she wants to know who approved the piece of art as he insisted: 'it shouldn't have been there in the first place.' 

Sudimack released a statement which read: 'The digital and print resources teachers use within their classroom or on assignments should be vetted and researched before making them available to students.