When one man was offered a position as principal at a local high school, he was ecstatic. But, before he was even able to fully celebrate, the new title started on the wrong foot as he received an email asking him to take down photos of him and his wife.
This first request and the year that would follow led him to write a lengthy Facebook exposé regarding his experience as the school’s first black principal.
What should have been an exciting promotion for a man in Texas turned into an emotional moment for him and his wife.
In 2019, Dr. James Whitfield was offered a position at Heritage Middle School as their principal. He was beyond excited and was happy to take the offer.
Not long after, while he and his wife, Kerrie, were still celebrating, he received a phone call from an administrator who told him to check his email.
In his email was a forwarded message from the school district’s superintendent.
It showed professionally-taken photos of him and his wife on a beach in Mexico during their five-year anniversary. The photos are intimate but not explicit, showing the two kissing and embracing one another in various poses.
The text in the email read, “Is this the Dr. Whitfield we want as an example for our students?”
He received a follow-up phone call just minutes later and asked what this was all about.
The administrator told him they were requesting he take the photo down. When he tried to ask why, they said, “Well, we just don’t want people to stir up stuff.”
Though he wasn’t happy with it, he agreed and took the photos down.
“I wish I had the conviction to say, ‘No, I’m not going to take it down; that’s a picture of me and my wife kissing on the beach; there’s no reason for me to take this photo down,'” he said in an interview with KXAS .
It was never explained why they wanted the photos taken down, but Whitfield and his wife had their suspicions.
Whitfield is a black man and Kerrie is a white woman. Kerrie thought the school was taking an issue with the fact that Whitfield is a black man with a tattoo on his arm, which was visible in the photos, while Whitfield himself thought the school had a problem with them being in an interracial marriage.
They were both hurt by that event, and Whitfield recently spoke up about that and other experiences he’s had in a Facebook post.
In his post , he explains other racist attacks he’s been the victim of while acting as principal, the first black principal the school has ever had in its 25-year history.
These attacks include being criticized by parents for numerous things, some of which simply weren’t true.
Some of those criticisms involve misunderstandings regarding lessons he helped teach.
He co-led a program called ‘Breaking the Barriers,’ which parents said taught students that white people are inherently racist, which he denies. He was also criticized for supporting Southern Poverty Law Center, a non-profit that helps fight against racism in the justice system.
His post is an expose of all he experienced while serving as principal at Heritage Middle School, and he hopes that bringing them to light will usher in change.
“For the better part of the last year, I’ve been told repeatedly to just ‘get around the fact that there are some racist people’ and ‘just deal with it and stay positive’ each time the racist tropes reared their heads, but I will stay silent no longer.”
In his sign off, he writes, “I will continue to lead with my actions and rise above the nonsense that some seek to hold fast to, working to bring people together around common purpose, working to ensure ALL students have an excellent, equitable education that prepares them for a multitude of possibilities.”
h/t: People
