GHS principal to white teachers: Check your privilege

Goldsboro High School principal Christopher D. Horne gave more than a dozen teachers — several of them white — an assignment March 18 as part of what he characterized as a mandatory professional development session: Read Peggy McIntosh’s “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” write and submit a “cultural autobiography,” and come to campus March 20 prepared to discuss both.

The McIntosh piece, published in 1988, states, among other things, that “whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege” and that “most talk by whites about equal opportunity seems to me now to be about equal opportunity to try to get into a position of dominance while denying that systems of dominance exist.”

The reading also included instructions for staff to follow, including keeping a “diary” of “white privilege that they notice … in their daily lives” and writing down “ways in which whites are privileged in their own school.”

Reading the article — and following the above instructions — was not optional. Here is the email Horne sent to staff:

As a result of Horne’s assignment, several GHS teachers have filed formal complaints with Wayne County Public Schools — accusing the first-year principal of creating a hostile work environment, discrimination, and distribution of racist material.

In fact, according to board policy, had they not reported it, they would be “subject to disciplinary action.”

One teacher, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation, said they saw the assignment as a “slap in the face” and no longer considers GHS a “safe place to work.”

“I increasingly see evidence that Mr. Horne uses race as a keystone of his own identity and the identity of others,” he told the New Old North. “While previously, this has been employed to celebrate the strengths of different cultures, populations, etc., I increasingly feel as if I’m expected to cope with my whiteness, offer critical excuses for other teachers who are white, and made to feel as if my opinions are not heard as collegial and constructive, but as tainted by the color of my skin.”

Another said they were “shocked” by the assignment, but feared speaking out because of potential damage to their career.

“This is North Carolina. We have no real union. We are told we can be fired at will,” they said. “So I should feel protected in this case? I feel like that’s why only a handful of teachers have come forward.”

An African-American teacher who has not yet filed a complaint with the district because they, too, fear retaliation, said they were “disgusted” by the suggestion they keep a list of white privilege they noticed around GHS.

“There is so much wrong with that activity that it’s hard to know where to start,” they wrote in a statement provided to the New Old North. “I love my co-workers. I teach my students that white, black, yellow, we are all the same. How can I preach and practice those words and go around spying on my white colleagues? Unethical doesn’t even begin to cover what this is.”

When he was hired by the district in June, Horne, in a news release, said inclusivity was one of his strengths.

“A major strength I possess is my ability to build positive relationships with people of all backgrounds,” he said.

GHS employs a dozen white staff members — from teachers, counselors and testing coordinators to coaches and the school’s athletic director — and, while they reflect the minority, some of the school’s student body is white.

The school also houses a white success coach and college, career, and military coordinator.

To date, none of the teachers quoted in this story who filed formal complaints March 21 have heard from the district. And while board policy makes it clear that the “investigator” has 15 days — and in some cases, more — to reach a conclusion on such matters, it also states that “every effort should be made to expedite the process.”

The question now, according to those who filed the complaints, is how long before their concerns are addressed. Horne’s next mandatory professional development session is scheduled for March 27 at 8 a.m. — leaving staff members wondering whether or not to attend.

“How can I go into that meeting without any guidance? Am I expected to be insubordinate and refuse to show up? Do I face getting written up or worse and damage my career because this hasn’t been handled?” one of them told the New Old North. “This seems like a pretty clear-cut case. I’m not exactly sure what we’re waiting for.”

To read the entire McIntosh article, click here.