Black Texas Principal Forced To Resign After Critical Race Theory Controversy
Dr. James Whitfield, a former principal at Colleyville Heritage High School in the Fort Worth area of Texas, has been forced to resign after a controversy over critical race theory.
According to NBC News, at a Nov. 8 school board meeting, the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District board of trustees voted him out. Parents accused him of pushing critical race theory, which is a legal theory of how the law intersects with race.
Although NBC News reports there has been “no evidence” of Whitfiled pushing or advocating for CRT, some parents were allegedly outraged after he wrote an email about George Floyd’s murder and stated systemic racism was “alive and well.”
Whitfield has been suspended since September of 2021.
“This is beyond me,” Whitfield told NBC News. “I’m hopeful that we can use this to move forward and to progress and get some true meaningful change and for people to be okay with teaching truth, people to be okay with embracing inclusivity and diversity, celebrating every student that walks through the doors of our schools."
A parent, Laura Leeman, who supports Whitfield, said, “It’s going to sound crazy, but for those who have been following this, this is Christian nationalism. This is white Christian nationalism. That’s what I think is happening here. I think that a lot of people who really support public education and do support diversity have been asleep at the wheel. And there’s no time for us to sleep.”
This isn’t Whitfield’s first problematic experience with the school. Back in July 2019, Whitfield said he was told by a district official to take down an anniversary photo from Facebook of him kissing his white wife in order to not “stir up stuff.”
Whitfield will remain on paid administrative leave until August 2023.
