a north texas A member of the school board revealed that a black principal was “fired” from a mostly white high school because of a letter encouraging anti-racism.
Tammy Nakamura, a newly-elected member of the Grapevine-Colleyville School Board, told a Republican National Committee-sponsored school board panel how former Collieville Heritage High School principal James Whitfield’s role as an “activist” was “the straw that broke the camel’s back”. ” Was. ,” The Daily Beast reported.
Whitfield wrote a letter to her school on the morning of June 3, 2020, in the wake of protests related to the death of George Floyd.
In the letter, he said that education was the “key” to ending ignorance, hatred and systemic racism, according to The Texas Tribune.
“It is a necessary conduit for achieving freedom and justice for all,” he wrote.
A year after his remarks, Stetson Clark, a former school board candidate, referred to the letter at a school board meeting and accused Whitfield of teaching “critical race theory”.
“He is encouraging the disintegration and destruction of our district,” Clark said. As he concluded his speech, the crowd cheered.
The first black principal at Whitfield, a mostly white high school, was placed on paid administrative leave in August 2021, reports The Texas Tribune. He agreed to resign as principal, but will remain on paid administrative leave until August 2023.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that part of the district’s agreement with Whitfield includes an agreement to “resolve disputes and not make any additional public statements.”
Nakamura said Whitfield was a “total activist” and referred to the letter he wrote in response to Floyd’s death.
“Absolutely proof” [of] What was he trying to do,” Nakamura said. “They have to stop now, our schools can’t have teachers like that because they’re just poison, and they’re taking our schools down.”
Nakamura also claimed that Whitfield made national media appearances in the Grapevine-Coleville school district because he was married to a white woman.
You can see his comments shared in the Collyville Citizens for Accountability Facebook group here.
Nakamura and other Grapevine-Coleville School Board members did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for further comment.
The Board has a meeting scheduled for Monday with an executive session to “consider the appointment, employment, evaluation, reappraisal, duties, discipline or dismissal of a public officer or employee, or to consider complaints or allegations against any public officer or employee.” to listen to”. Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
