Whitfield
responded in a lengthy Facebook post, writing, “At the last GCISD school board meeting, an individual was allowed to speak my name in a public open forum (against the rules) and I can no longer maintain my silence in the face of this hate, intolerance, racism, and bigotry.”
Whitfield says that while the overwhelming majority of parents and other residents he interacts with in-person and online are “loving, supportive, empathetic, compassionate, and rational people,” he does encounter racism as part of his job. And apparently, he’s been told to stay quiet about it.
“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,” his Facebook post reads. “I cannot ask people to speak up if I am unwilling to do so myself, and just because I am a school administrator that does not take away my rights and ability to be human and defend myself.”
“I am not the CRT (Critical Race Theory) Boogeyman,” Whitfield says. “I am the first African American to assume the role of Principal at my current school in its 25-year history, and I am keenly aware of how much fear this strikes in the hearts of a small minority who would much rather things go back to the way they used to be.”
Whitfield describes a “Breaking the Barriers” panel he participated in back in late Spring of 2019 that has been under attack recently. “My colleague curated the presentation and I happily joined them in sharing my experiences and story during this presentation,” he writes, but apparently sharing his story and presumably acknowledging that he faced barriers that needed breaking is some sort of proof that he’s been teaching kids about racism—which, of course, is a thing that exists and kids should learn about.
Whitfield shares other examples of times he has acknowledged the existence of racism, including an email he sent to his professional communities following the death of George Floyd condemning racism and sharing insights on how to commit to anti-racism. “Another issue they have with me is my support for the Southern Poverty Law Center and their commitment to fighting structural racism and advocating for justice for all,” his post reads. “Please read that again (eek). If someone is against that I just must ask, ‘what are you for?’”
But in the end, Whitfield knows that this isn’t really about “critical race theory” for these people now attacking him—or, at least, that that’s just “one piece of how race plays into their hateful agenda.” It’s also incredibly personal.
In the post, Whitfield recounts an experience from June of 2019, on the night he was offered his current job as principal.
“Those who have received administrative appointments know how it usually goes,” he writes, “the board approves and you get a congratulatory call from someone in central admin (usually your supervisor). That was not the case this evening. The call I received was a sign of things to come.”
Whitfield says based on the caller ID, he knew this was a call about the job. But instead of making an offer (or a rejection), the administrator told him to check his email and said they’d call him back.
“As I read the forwarded email it said ‘Is this the Dr. Whitfield we want as an example for our students?’ And the picture attached was a picture of my wife and I kissing on the beach in Mexico during a trip we took for our 5-year anniversary,” Whitfield writes.
Whitfield’s wife is white.
According to the local NBC affiliate, “Whitfield’s wife Kerrie said she took the photo to mean a black man with a tattoo on his arm was inappropriate. But James Whitfield said he took it to mean the issue was he was in an interracial relationship.”
This is the photo that has parents (pretending to be) so concerned:
