Principal Demoted Over Racial Slur

Once again, take note of the voting divide. It is party line voting here; the mayor's team against everyone else. Stop politicizing the BOE and get back to work on improving the quality of our children's education.

Seems to me that the BOE is overreacting to Roblees statement which everyone agrees was a hypothetical question which seemed appropriate in a racial/anti racial setting. The moderator opened the door to responses, Roblees response/ question was a hypothetical racial inquiry. The moderator should have made a distinction between his/her white racial question, to Roblees ethnic offend used by both BOE staff and student, slur question.
Again, appears to be an over reaction by the BOE, alder Smith is correct, let's see the full text of the conversation recorded last march when schools were closed.

Some of the folks who will respond to this issue have grossly contributed to black on black racial rhetoric name calling while working on Harp re-election team including one of the Board of Ed members, the Alder and definitely the clergy.

Black folks were called all types of names related to slavery using social media!

Seems to me like a lot of the pots calling the kettles black!

As someone once said, we tend to "major in the minors and minor in the majors." Given the context and her history, this is minor and I don't think any discipline is necessary.

While my time at NHPS was close to a decade ago the word talked about here is one I refused to even think of. I was well aware of how it was viewed and the hurt it causes. I was well aware that being white meant that uttering it would be a career ender. I was well aware that the word is hurtful. I am white. There is no excuse not to know this. I would never have made this "mistake" nor would 99.9 percent of the staff.

It appears that this former principal could not understand how this would make her look even if it was a seminar and said in the context of an example.

Having worked with Administrators for almost a decade what always struck me is that they were universally arrogant, overpaid, and tone deaf concerning teacher, staff, and student issues. This was true, in my opinion, regardless of their background, race, creed, etc.

Seems like that has not changed.

That said this offense, in my opinion, should not have been a demote-able one. Instead she should have been forced to apologize and take a pay cut for at least a year. She would learn the lesson better. Instead now NHPS has created another disgruntled administrator that will do nothing and get paid a ton of cash for 10 more years or so. It is discouraging that she could not understand how this would be perceived and how this would go. What arrogance :-(

It seems as though , based on my Educator friends, demeaning and racial slurs about students are often made by some of their white colleagues in the middle and high schools as jokes or with these kids just can't learn - Robless, made her statements to see how it sound to say the Nword over and over in a professional development about racism for Educators. Was it necessary ? for her to practice that particular negative adjective to show off in front of colleagues who found it incorporate in that setting! Perhaps, someone should share the book White Fragility with her! No, just kidding I wanted to see how it sounds! NHPS should offer more diversity training to administrators, parents, staff, and students! She was there for training not to say it to hear how it sounds because the facilitator used the words white and white privilege - she knew what she was doing and saying-that is why they were having a training and her White Fragility came out in defense to the words white/white privilege. We must be careful who is working with students in urban schools and they culturally aware of the community in which they work in .

@ formerNHIT

I agree with all you said, save for the bit about administrators- I've had several truly amazing administrators; though I did have one admin who fits your description...

I'm really angry with the excuse that it was a "slip of the tongue". I say the f-word a fair amount, so I have to be careful while teaching to never let it slip out. I never use the n-word, so it's not something I have to actively be careful not to say- and it certainly would never slip out.

Also very upsetting is the context in which she used the n-word. It's bad enough that she isn't aware enough to know why it's very necessary to talk about white privilege and the behavior/actions of white people. But for her to compare the situations using the n-word, instead of perhaps saying, "black this, black that"- it's mind boggling.

"Goldson emphasized that Roblee was speaking to subordinates and that Black people will continue to have to report to Roblee in her new position. They will have to wonder whether this reaction to an antiracism workshop extends to Roblee's evaluation of their work performance."

"Roblee was in an antiracism training and reacted to the workshop moderator using the phrases "white people" and "white privilege" by using the full n-word in hypothetical conversations."

Any person of any color should be offended by this. She is denying white privilege? She doesn't understand. Period.

I do not find it mind boggling, the n- word is and has been engrained into white people and priviledge for 250 years, also incorporated into black people as a result of this longevity of acceptance. However, that's a given. I am perplexed how the BOE could reach such a decision concering a forum based on race, when these epitats are part of a realistic question to be boiled down. Most of all, how the BOE reached a decision without examining BOE policy, by-laws or practices in a racial forum, that's what perplexed me.

When I saw the in the article above the context in which the words were said, not about a person or to a person, and in the context of racial sensitivity training, it made me think that this is exactly what the racial sensitivity training is for. So the training moderator can explain how using the word if you are white is never okay, and how much pain it causes, and how talking about white privilege and white fragility is part of the discussion about racism. It sounds like the perfect teachable moment to help this white woman understand that even though she is uncomfortable with the white guilt and the defensiveness she is feeling from the new knowledge she is being exposed to in the training, she needs to listen, learn and understand the greater pain that persons of color have been feeling for centuries. Our communities are so racially divided, CT has some of the most segregated municipalities in the nation, if she grew up in a predominantly white community, she doesn't have the experience of seeing her friends of color being constantly subjected to racist behavior from others. Instead of firing her, or just demoting her, which won't teach her anything, she should be required to attend more racial sensitivity training and be given a list of titles of books she should read to educate herself on what she clearly needs to learn more about.
She doesn't know, what she doesn't know, and how can she learn if nobody teaches her?
We are too quick to shun and punish ignorance, when we should be doubling down on educating and enlightening people to create positive change.

White people aren't allowed to say it, since they have a history of terrorism and war crimes while using it. We should have done what the Germans did after the Holocaust: confess our wrongs and make memorial monuments to the atrocities to remind our collective psyche never to let it happen again. The slave trade that founded our nation was a holoocaust. Get smarter. This is not "Critical Race Theory". This is American history. I'm glad the lady had this teachable moment… and maintains her salary that I could only dream of at this point. (Admins seem to be very budget bloated, but that's another subject).

It is unwise for any white person to ever use the word, even in an intellectual discussion of the word itself. It triggers high emotions. When emotions are high, logic and reason often leave the room.
It was unwise for Ms. Robles to use this word, but in all things context is key.
Did she call any Black person the N-word?
Did she refer to Black people in general using that word?
Was she engaged in some angry rant against Blacks?
None of those questions can be answered yes.
It appears Ms. Roblee was engaged in a discussion in a workshop on race, and inartfully and unfortunately raised a question about the N-word using the word.
Does that make Roblee a racist?
I think not.
Robles has worked with kids and staff in the NHPS for years.
Has any student, parent or staff member ever made any accusation of racist words, behavior or conduct? If so where are her accusers?
People should step back, take a breath and consider the CONTEXT of the matter.
And let all the fingerpointers including the ministers who are without fault cast the first stone!

@ Thomas Alfred Paine


Your standards of what is or is not appropriate or racist here is not what's being used to measure the situation.

Given this episode, why would I ever want to participate in any such training? I always thought confidentiality of the group was a basic value workshop participants agreed to? If I or a participant say something that is wrong -- with no malicious intent -- but just wrong, I would hope that becomes a teaching moment and the person doesn't get crucified for expressing their thoughts. We all make mistakes. Maybe I'm wrong but it seems like Superintendent Tracey recommended the demotion to avoid firing her and save her job. Seems like a lot of bad decisions were made here.

"unfortunately raised a question about the N-word using the word."

No. This is NOT what she did. Don't gaslight the situation. She whispered, sideways, to her subordinates, and made the comment. She did NOT raise her hand to the workshop presenter and ask, "Hey, some people say that black people saying "white people" is akin to white people saying "N*****R. What say you?" She didn't even say "n-word" she LITERALLY said the word white people are NOT supposed to use....to her subordinates.

That's HOW COMFORTABLE she was with people IN A SCHOOL BUILDING/FACILITY. And that's sad.

Her privilege is showing...and in keeping her job without restoration to the community IS THE DEFINITION OF PRIVILEGE.

If we step back and analyze the situation as it is described here (and it may, in reality, have been very different), here is what happened:

Ms. Roblee, in hearing the terms 'white people' and 'white privilege' employed in the context of this antiracism training, thought that these terms were somehow synonymous with the N-word in terms of their dismissiveness and offensiveness. We can extrapolate that she used the N-word in this context because, in her mind, it was as equally as taboo and hurtful as the words 'white people' and 'white privilege.'

This is a position with which I vehemently disagree, and indicates that she has not done the work that SHOULD BE required of all administrators in a position such as hers, whether they work in a city as diverse as New Haven or one that is 100% white - more on this later.

However, this was said in the context of an antiracism TRAINING session, which necessarily implies that at least some of the participants have not yet done the work that they need to do in this area, and indeed may be carrying around some notions that are pretty abhorrent to others. When (as a white person) I look back at my own thinking about these issues, or hear from family members who do indeed think that naming 'white privilege' is a kind of 'reverse racism,' I am reminded that these ideas are prevalent and the only way to shift people's thinking is through open and honest discussion. We can't always have that discussion without being exposed to, and hurt by, the ugliness that sustains it.

On the other hand, it is also true that no person of color should be forced into this kind of exposure or pain. It is not their job to educate white people out of their racist beliefs, ESPECIALLY white people who, up until now, have expressed neither the interest or the investment in rooting out and deconstructing these poisonous ideas and systems.

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And yet he were are. In this country, so much of the training and discussion of these issues is happening in the workplace. We are doing it internally, or asking consultants to come in and help us do the work with our colleagues. In many ways this makes sense because (at least some of us) want our workplaces to be involved in anti-racist work. And yet the result is often this - white people who are confused and defensive because they are punished or shamed for saying something offensive even though they were told to be 'honest, open, and vulnerable' in these discussions, and people of color who are angry, hurt, and rightfully skeptical after being involuntarily exposed to their colleagues' - or supervisors' - racist perspectives.

This indicates, to me, that workplace 'trainings' or workshops are not the place to have these discussions. If anti-racism is indeed as fundamental to an organization's mission as is claims, it should not be something that employees and managers are asked to improve through 'workshops.' NHPS (hopefully) would not hire a teacher who has little training or experience with teaching but plans to 'work it out' by participating in a few workshops - training and experience requirements would be made explicit in job descriptions and be a regular and expected metric through which one's job performance is measured.

(Continued below)

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The same should be true of experience and training with anti-racism. If NHPS takes this seriously enough to risk exposing its workers to hurtful racism, then it should be taking it seriously enough to make it a fundamental part of recruitment and job retention. It should be requiring that all teachers and administrators enter into their positions with some amount of learned and lived experience and/or training in this area. Of course, if these teachers and administrators want to continue to expand their learning in this area, they should have the opportunity to do so by participating in opt-in trainings and classes, but no one should be forced into these opportunities as a way to put a band-aid over a festering wound. It's not fair for those of us - like myself, or Ms. Roblee - who are still learning, or those who are so often forced to bear the brunt of our unexamined assumptions.

This doesn't mean that one needs to be maximally 'woke' when they enter into a position at NHPS, but it does mean that one should have a base level of knowledge about anti-racism, just as they would be expected to have a base knowledge of the subject area they teach. Such a person would understand ahead of time why the N-word is not synonymous in any way with 'white people' or 'white privilege' and would not be forcing her colleagues or the greater community into the choices and investment in time and energy that are put into motion in cases such as this.

So I would ask this of the Board of Education, and the rest of us:

What is our district doing to recruit teachers and administrators who are competent in anti-racist thought and practice? How is this competency being assessed?

How is the district going to incorporate anti-racism in the evaluation process?

What opt-in trainings and opportunities for continued education are the district going to make available to teachers and administrators?

Regarding the voting divide, another way of looking at it is that the people voting for Dr. Tracey's recommendation were following the rule to allow the superintendent to manage her organization as the duly appointed CEO. The board decisions are based on the principle of majority rule. In this case the majority ruled.

It is a shame that she continues to work and earn huge salary, she should have been fired. Demoting her from principal to AP is a slap on the face for the black community. People like her should not be in a position of power, she is ignorant, hateful and uncaring human being. I feel sad for the students and the staff who have to deal with her presence at the school.

Thank you to the board members who stood up and (shared his experience) what this word means to us and how it affects us daily. The rest of the members who voted for her to remain in New Haven public school, shame on you. Grow some balls and stand for the community. Stop thinking about people like her who don't have respect for us.

If her slur was referring sexual orientation/gender, or anti-semitic, there would not have been a discussion, she would have been fired on the spot.

She needs to go!

06511- when I was an elementary education major at Southern we received absolutely NO training in these issues, none.
My fellow classmates and I asked our teachers when would we get training for classroom behavioral management, teaching special needs students who were now being mainstreamed, racial and ethnic sensitivity training, how to teach for math and reading disabilities, and the other topics that we felt insecure about and under trained and undereducated for. We were told we could pursue those topics, if we felt like it, as part of our continued education or in special Ed training while pursuing our masters degrees and PhD degrees, well after we had already begun teaching in the classroom. We mostly learned how to write up lesson plans, child development and basic child psychology, and how to present lessons on topics. I looked up the current curriculum requirements on SCSU's website for a BS in elementary ed and I'm glad to see they added some topics that were not offered when I was taking classes in the early 90's. http://catalog.southernct.edu/undergraduate/programs-and-degrees/elementary-education-bs.html
You'll notice that they've added classroom management and teaching for learning disabilities, and teaching ESL students, but nothing on racial or ethnic sensitivity training education to help the predominately white, female, suburban teachers-in-training learn how to navigate working in a city or town school system with students from diverse backgrounds that are different from the teachers experiences with sensitivity and understanding, and how to teach history, social studies and even classic literature materials with difficult and sensitive topic material included. So you're sending in these teachers with little to no understanding or experiences to draw from to teach students with very different perspectives and experiences. I would be helpful if CT added critical race theory and sensitivity training for education training for a BS degree.

No. No. No. Stop saying "give her a break." If the context reported here is accurate, she used the N word in response to the phrase white ppl and white privilege. Think about that. She did not say "what if I went around saying black ppl, black Privilege." Big difference. What she said is unacceptable. What she said is offensive. What she said is wrong. We need to stop making excuses for white people and their errors. We need to stop worrying about the feelings and reputations of white people. One of the commenters here is actually applauding for her for being at an anti-racist workshop. Guess what, all teachers and administrators should be and probably will be going to anti-racist workshops. There is a lot of work to do. And yes, it is hard work. But white ppl need to get past the knee jerk, defensiveness and just listen. Our students deserve that we all do this very important anti racist work. And while there will be missed steps and mistakes made along the way, they certainly shouldn't be excused or swept under the rug quietly. I'm disgusted by all of this. Teachers, admins, adults working with kids: put your pride and ego aside and LEARN SOMETHING NEW. Our students deserve that. White people: stop "what iffing" and try listening. It's a great stance to model for our kids.

Is she protected by a Union or not?

Education is the cure for ignorance.
Just putting a scarlet letter on everyone who says or does something ignorant means that the someone won't learn and grow, and will only become more resentful and defensive, and won't understand the impact their words and actions have. The person teaching the anti-racism workshop should have stepped in to create a teachable moment. And as they were the one teaching the class, it IS their job to correct a person's wrong and hurtful statement and correct their ignorance during the class. This is the whole point of teaching an anti racism class, to correct racism and racial insensitivity and ignorance and teach people how to be anti-racist. Otherwise you're not educating the person.
The former principal needs more racial sensitivity training and should be assigned classes and reading materials to help her learn and grow to be a better person, then she can become an enlightened, educated and more sensitive person.

Honest in NH--- everyone should remember attending workshops where people are told to be honest, frank, and open and that is a free space for hard conversations---- now we know better.
Sadly, It is not truth or openness or real discussion that is the goal.

For someone to compare the phrase "white privilege" and "white people" by invoking the actual n-word a couple of times, shows not only a complete lack of racial sensitivity but also reveals that persons thought processes on racial issues.
How she got that far thinking that way is more than food for thought. It is of great concern.
It is not pertinent that it was said in a anti-racism seminar, but rather that someone of her position and stature said it. Sitting in an anti-racism seminar does not make one free to spew their racist thoughts. Listen more and talk less, You might learn something.

again, westville man, you prove my point. This is about battering and silencing people. No real discussion or thoughts will be permitted. Just like the totalitarian state we are headed for-- call out the Thought Police! Your thoughts will be judged by others and they will tell you what you may think....

Ms. Roblee's remarks, as reported here, are not those of someone "actively participating" in an anti-racism workshop; rather, they're a transparent attempt to undermine the premise and the legitimacy of such a workshop. There's no equivalence between the n-word and the more neutral descriptive phrase, "white people" and it's disturbing that an experienced professional educator can claim not to have understood that.

White Lives Matter...that was what one white woman came up to me to scream when several of us were demonstrating on the Green in an all white suburban town.

My sign, like so many other white people's signs read, "Black Lives Matter".

Yes, in that suburban town, White Lives DO Matter and that means Black Lives Don't Matter, so as a White person, I was attacked by a White racist.

I get that because I am White and we White people have to live with White racists everyday. It's sickening to me because so many White's do not have a clue about race.

All White people are racists simply because they were raised in a White Supremacist system.

That's a fact. So, White people get over it, pick up the book, "Caste" and get yourself educated about race.

What I explained to her is that my sign reading, BLACK LIVES MATTER has nothing to do with White people because our history is different.

I told her as fast as I could that White people were not hung by trees by Black people.

White people were NOT forced to use WHITE ONLY facilities during Jim Crow.

White people were not treated as "less than" in all levels of our society.

If you are White as I am, you understand the total ignorance of WHITE people when it comes to race.

Ms Roblees appears to be offended that White people, in this workshop, got labeled
in the same way that we White people have labeled Black Americans since 1619.

What she was saying is that we White people, the dominate in the dominate White Supremacist system should get the benefits of not recognizing our race. We are not the "White people" she says and she doesn't like that label. Being called by her race puts her on a different - lower.

Her comment equates the history of the White people as being oppressed in the same way that Black people have been oppressed by the White Supremacist system.

There is no Black Supremacist system in the U.S.

And, it bothers a lot of White people that the White race is quickly becoming the Minority.

City Yankee, your point isn't worth proving. She is there to learn, gain some knowledge, not spew ignorant opinions. It is not a "discussion" when someone thinks their opinion is the same as knowledge.
You can have your children educated by her, I don't want mine.

City Yankee,

Before you get out your yardstick to measure the gradation of a theoretical slippery slope, perhaps you could share your thoughts on this specific incident? Otherwise what you seem to be saying is that white people should face zero consequences for using the N-word whenever they please, lest we inevitably march toward authoritarianism.

Is that your argument here? Are you not bothered at all by Ms. Roblee's comments as described above?

06511-- I did not say I was not bothered by the remarks but I will add that I don't know the whole context of the conversation and I was not there. The transcript is not available and probably will not be as it is a personnel matter.
All I know is that people who are asked to share their thoughts at workshops and then get slammed for doing so, will not share again and will not achieve any benefit from the workshop. If the goal is to silence people then these workshops should continue slamming people for their words, rather than taking the workshop down the road to discuss and educate everyone. I didn't think silence was the goal; did you?

Westville Man-- I'm happy to know you think only your opinions are worth proving because of course you are always right and you know everything already. You don't even need facts!

Ok folks… there is a link to a prior article about this. Here is one of the comments …
posted by: FacChec on June 15, 2021 10:36am
Seems to me that the BOE is overreacting to Roblees statement which everyone agrees was a "hypothetical question which seemed appropriate in a racial/anti racial setting." The moderator opened the door to responses, Roblees response/ "question" was a "hypothetical racial inquiry. "
The moderator should have made a distinction between his/her white racial question, to Roblees ethnic offend used by both BOE staff and student, slur question.
Again, appears to be an over reaction by the BOE, alder Smith is correct, let's see the full text of the conversation recorded last march when schools were closed.

This took place in an anti racial training session!! How is "the other"supposed to learn
offensiveness if an example cannot be made?

Let's print the entire context of usage before people whose intentions are well meaning by attending a learning workshop are ostracized.
This is how wars begin.

A White person who has been taught properly about race while growing up would not have even thought to ask a "hypothetical" question (as it has been explained here) using that word.

If this remark as someone said, "...took place in an anti racial training session." how is "the other"supposed to learn offensiveness if an example cannot be made?"

Here's how.

This person who has lived here for decades, would have by now had millions of chances (since 1619) to learn from the Black/White experience what racism is. She would not need a workshop on racial issues to ask this question because she knew the answer.

As a White person, growing up in an all White working class town, I was taught at home, at church and at school about race differences in people. I was taught that no matter a person's skin color, all people were the same.

If this administrator made an honest mistake, I have to say, on the issue of race there are no "honest mistakes" or "slips of the tongue". If so, did she apologize right then and there?

If this woman said what I understand here she said, she had to have known what she was saying. If she didn't, then I believe that she was never interested or questioned the plight of Black people who suffered under White rule.

All White people, including me, are racist.

For me, the thought of using that word would never had entered my head. And, if I ever said it when I was growing up, I would have had my mouth washed out with soap.

Times are changing, however, and far too many White people do not want to learn about their racist attitudes.

They just want Black people to go away so that they can have their Leave It To Beaver life back the way it was decades ago. They want to wash their clothes with Tide in a GE washer, brush their teeth with Colgate toothpaste and drive a Chevrolet. They want their milk delivered everyday and Wonderbread with peanut butter for lunch.

White people still hope America will be all White someday.

Dear Wesunidad-- do you really think you speak for all minorities? You know and have data that black and brown people don't..." want to wash their
clothes with Tide in a GE washer, brush their teeth with Colgate toothpaste
and drive a Chevrolet. ... don't want their milk delivered everyday and
Wonderbread with peanut butter for lunch." ??? Or that all white people want this?

Who made you the spokesman for everyone or did I miss that election cycle??

So, it's worse for someone entrusted with school security to steal water bottles than it is for someone entrusted with leadership to reveal their easy facility with a hateful slur in the context of criticizing their . . . anti-racism . . . training . . . program . . . ?

Thank you Wesunidad for your insightful comments. CityYankee, stop defending her, she should have known better. She is an educator, there has been enough training before this to let us know how heartfelt the word is to the black community. As a former New Haven Public School employee, there was no way she could make a mistake regarding the "N'word. She was trained, trust me. Her use of the word was not an accident, it was and is who she is: racist white privilege woman who could care less about the people she is serving.

CityYankee,

The goal of these trainings is not to silence people or 'slam' them for divergent points of view. As many have pointed out on this thread, Ms. Roblee is not in the situation she is in because she thoughtfully and respectfully expressed disagreement with the idea of 'white privilege' - she casually slung the N-word around in the context of a professional training. It is not too much to expect or demand that a highly qualified public employee and full-grown adult behave differently.

And let's think a bit deeper about who is 'silenced' because of incidents such as these. Is it just the white folks who are afraid they might say the wrong thing, or does it also include people of color who understandably withdraw from these conversations because they can't count on the lowest possible standards of respect and courtesy?

I Agree, 06511. Everyone is already scared to speak their minds and be honest. Moving forward; no one will say anything. Discussion and important conversations have now been stifled. There will be no communication, reconciliation or moving forward. But that is the point; isn't it? These trainings have now been rendered futile. Mission Accomplished, radicals of all stripes! The war continues and the powerful laugh.

Why is it always the BOE with the drama and the BS?

Dr. Tracey is the best Superintendent that we have had since Dr. John Dow. She is courageous, honest and fair. I trust her decisions. If the Board is going to questioned every decision that she makes, why have a superintendent? Who is educationally qualified to be a superintendent on this Board. Is the function of a School Board to make policies or is it their function to be the decision makers for the school system? Dr. Tracey has been a Teacher, a Principal, an Assistant Superintendent and now the
Superintendent. No one on this Board has those qualifications. Why can't this Board do their job and let Dr. Tracey do her job as the Superintendent? I think if everyone would stay in their lane, we would experience better Board meetings and they could get on with the business of improving the school system. What goes on in these Board meetings is an embarrassment. The welfare of our children in this community should be front and center.

Regarding this racial slur. This word is used everyday in music lyrics, TV shows, movies and in conversations. I have not seen or heard of an uproar of leaders and ministers in our community trying to teach our young people the meaning of the word and how it affected Blacks in the past. In some instances, it is used to show affection with some Blacks. Blacks have been known to greet each other with this word. Wrong or right, this is true. Like a song that gets in your head and you can't stop singing it. Hearing this word all the time, can understandably cause anyone to use it at a time when they should not regardless of their race. I have heard professionals, kids, parents and community people use the N-word. People have tried to desensitize the word by using it often. I admit, it's an ugly word. We should not try to destroy a person for a word that you might have used yourself.

I don't think that this person should have been demoted, but I am not the Superintendent and the people that have so much to say are not either.

Um…practical question here…

How is such a person to be integrated into the community of another school?

Agree with Honest in NH -- you would have to be crazy to attend a race training workshop done by the BOE. I've two comments about this entire affair: (1) It is amazing how righteous and indignant people are in "quoting" and/or "describing" the context of what Ms. Roblee said when NONE OF THEM WAS IN THE ROOM. She is being judged, tried and executed by people who are hearing about this second and third hand. Really? Second observation: I take the Board's vote as supporting the recommendation of Dr. Tracey, WHO THE BOE HIRED TO RUN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM! This BOE still does not understand it has one employee accountable to it -- the Superintendent who it hires. If you don't like their management decisions, you take that into account when you evaluate them. Otherwise, if BOE members want to be the Superintendent -- they should resign and apply for the position.

When one looks at the tone of much of this commentary, some people act as if they were in the room when it happened. Dr. Tracey had the facts and ruled based on them. Tit for tat is not the solution nor are people who rush to judgment with little or no information. How is the recent fire department hiring different?

@wes: you say, "All White people, including me, are racist." Speak for yourself only, please. I'm white and not racist. I hope someday (soon) you are able to drive the hate out of your heart. Our society has no place for racists.

As to the principal, you don't accidentally say a word you never use. If this was their first time using it, the fact they thought it was appropriate shows they lack the judgement to be in a position of leadership.

The article tells us that she was speaking to teachers (her subordinates) in reaction to the moderator's words. She did not pose a hypothetical question to the moderator, which would have been appropriate and would have given the moderator an opportunity to redirect. She used a racial slur to undermine the moderator's message.

Until more information becomes available, I have to believe that Ms. Roblee is being unjustly and roundly condemned by those closed-hearted individuals because of deep, scarring, and unresolved sins of the past. She may not be innocent, but she does not deserve all this hate.

Here is the sad part.

Eight comments regarding the murder of Richard Whittaker last week.

48 about this topic that was addressed properly by the SuperIntendant.

Not many commentators exorcised about the Whittaker homicide.

Plenty of comments from the one topic entities.

And that wesunidad commentator is both poorly informed and as usual incorrect.

Wally, Lumpy, Eddie Haskel and the Beav say so.

ElmCity Lover...

All White people are racist. That includes me.

Saying you are not racist is a way to hide your racism. Not me!!!! Yes, YOU!

Like all White people, you don't know the levels of your own racism because you are part of the White Supremacist system. If you support policies within the White Supremacist system (created by all White men), then you are racist.

It's a whole slew of very subtle behaviors on our part. It's like asking a White person for help in a store when a Black worker in the same store is nearby. It's like going to the White teller in a bank instead of a Black one, it's like a few White people making fun of a Black doctor as reported by Professor Timothy Snyder in his book, "Our Malady".

"The common idea of claiming "color Blindness" is akin to the notion of being "not racist" - as with the "not racist," the color blind individual, by ostensibly failing to see race, fails to see racism and falls into racist passivity."

"Our Constitution is color-blind," U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Harlan proclaimed in his dissent to Plessy v. Ferguson, that case that legalized Jim Crow segregation in 1896. "The white race deems itself to be the dominate race in this country, Justice Hanlan went on. "I doubt not, it will continue to be for all-time, if it remains true to its great heritage." A color-blind Constitution for a White-supremacist America."
from the "New York Times Bestseller, "How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi.

ElmCityLover you might find yourself in the books "White Fragility" or "Caste".

ElmCityLover - get uncomfortable because maybe you will then become aware.

Some day (if the world lasts that long) we'll all be beige, and racism will no longer be an issue. Meanwhile, all this focus on the N-word just aggravates the situation, like the way you scratch an itch until it becomes a sore. Everybody knows that it is a trigger word, and reasonable people don't use it, in public anyway. To say that it is a word that can be used by Black people but not by White people is to set up a double standard, which divides rather than unites. If the N-word is so offensive, then Black people shouldn't use it in public either. The goal is equality, isn't it? Racism is a learned cultural behavior that has been passed down through the generations, and it isn't going to be un-learned overnight, so it behooves everyone to calm down a bit and give well-meaning people the benefit of the doubt.

A. Joyner..You said, "Meanwhile, all this focus on the N-word just aggravates the situation..."

You are correct. That's exactly what the N-word is supposed to do...it's not like a scratch at all because the N-word is the word that is the basis for the division of people in the U.S.

The N-word is the word that creates division between working people so that they will not organize, come together and throw the oppressor - the White man in power OUT!.

The N-word is the reason White people have no clue as to who their real enemy is - the White man who keeps un-unionized working class people blind to the fact that if they got over the N-Word as it relates to their working brothers and sisters, then they would understand who their real allies are - and that is their co-workers no matter what color their skin is.

You said, "Racism is a learned cultural behavior that has been passed down through the generations, and it isn't going to be un-learned overnight, so it behooves everyone to calm down a bit and give well-meaning people the benefit of the doubt.

This is not about unlearning anything. It's about creating a society where all people are treated equally.
And, as long as it serves the White man's profits to keep people divided, the N-world will be around.

The N-word is all about the division of the working class. The N-word is about hate. The N-word is about division - like taking Black people off the voting rolls because they dared to vote in the last election to get rid if a racist tyrant - trump.

You said...we should give well meaning people the benefit of the doubt? No. They need to be educated instead because they are clueless about race.

White people who use the N-word are on the side the White man in power who uses it as a tool to divide.

This is not about personal relationships. This is about structural racism as it exists today in the U.S.

The N-word is laden with history - the history of the White man enslaving human beings to benefit himself.

wesunidad: If the N-word is the basis for the division of the people in the U.S., then I repeat, why do Black people keep using the word? If it is so offensive, why keep using it? You say the N-word is about hate and division, and I agree. You say you want a society where all people are treated equally, but then you cal the White man the oppressor. That's not language that encourages cooperation. You go on to say that "the N-word is all about the division of the working class" and that it serves the purposes of "the real enemy… the White man who keeps un-unionizing working class people." What you are saying is basically Marxist rhetoric that has nothing to do with race. It's true that working class Whites and Blacks have much in common in that both are exploited by corporate power. But inflammatory rhetoric will get you nowhere and can even set you back. That kind of rhetoric triggers charges of "Socialism" and you will automatically alienate a majority of the population. Black and White working people have a great deal of power in the economy. Corporate power depends on everyone spending money on their products, and targeted boycotts can make a big impact. The right-wing has learned to use social media to organize, so fight fire with fire. Workers can stage "sick-outs." Think of what an impact a national walk-out day would have on the corporate bottom line. And the right to vote is important—efforts to restrict voting rights need to be vigorously opposed. Keep pressure on lawmakers to pass progressive legislation. Support local small businesses and avoid giving business to big corporations. Inflammatory rhetoric and confrontation will only lead to more division.

A. Joyner...to you, the truth seems inflammatory.

But, the truth about the exploitation of the White man is not news to the working class.

Those of us being exploited by the White man know it. It's not a secret. That's what unions are all about...trying to get the White man to throw workers a few crumbs.

You said, "You say you want a society where all people are treated
equally, but then you cal the White man the oppressor. That's not language
that encourages cooperation.

Gee, what language should we use to call the oppressor to encourage cooperation and so that they pay all of us living wages? Mr. White Man? Mr. Oppressor? Mr. Walk All Over Us?

Should we say, "Keep us poor and don't pay taxes so we can keep you rich? Would that get the desired cooperation of the White man/corporate owner?

Over the decades in the U.S. the White man has shown that he/she doesn't give a damn what he is called because he is proud of his station in life, and as long as he/she continues to profit from the labor of the working class then that's fine. That's the way capitalism works.

Does this sound like Marx? Great because it is! I learned all this while on strike against Yale.
I learned who the enemy of the working class is. It was a great education for me.

If more people understood the laws of capitalism by reading Marx, we'd have a lot less exploitation in the U.S.

Would be interesting to know if Roblee is a Trump supporter.

wesunidad, basically, I'm agreeing with you. But the opponent is "the corporate elite," not "Mr White Man." You can't fight racism with racism. And nobody is going to read Marx except for some idealistic college students. And you can't use socialist rhetoric if you want to get anywhere; the right-wing has turned "socialism" into a trigger word that will work against you. You would just be playing into their hands. Have you noticed that the stock market keeps going up, despite political unrest and despite covid lockdowns? And how the rich keep getting richer? Jeff Bezos has so much money that he can waste a billion to take a joyride into outer space. We all need to stop playing their game; the corporate elite says "let's you and him fight" while they run to the bank with all the money. Don't engage with racists, just push for political equality by voting and by using social media to organize and coordinate. The fact that the red states are trying to restrict voting shows you how scared they are because people are coming out to vote against them. That's why they're in denial that Trump lost-they're scared, because political activism is working. The tide is turning. So what do you want? A violent revolution? That would push the country to be more right wing and repressive. It would start a race war. This is just my opinion, but violence and confrontation is just going to make things worse. Political activism is working, just have patience. Study Gandhi instead of Marx.

A. Joyner...thank you for your thoughtful comments.

To clarify, "Mr. White Man" IS the corporate elite.

Do Black people own and run Amazon? Google? Microsoft? Walmart?

Common, A. Joyner! The White man and the corporate elite are ONE and the SAME.
If not, prove me wrong.

What you call my socialist rhetoric I call the truth. The term "working class" for example. Should I now substitute that for the term - the masses of the exploited? Or, the masses of workers enslaved in below poverty wages?

The term the "ruling class"? Should I just call them the White Kings and Queens?

Yes, I have noticed that the Federal Reserve flooding the market with worthless money has jacked up the Stock Market. Watch Professor Richard Wolff who can explain this better than I can. It will all fall soon.

I do not agree with you that the Corporate class is in denial about trump having lost. trump recently said it himself, "but we lost". All's going according to their plan robbing from the poor and taking their tax free benefits before there's a total breakdown of the system - a system called capitalism.

The American people need healthcare, we can't get it. They need a living wage, we can't get it. They need the right to vote - that's being stolen right before our eyes. Americans want to buy a home for their family - they can't. Americans want a vacation - they can't get one. Got the idea here?

You asked what do I want a violent revolution? I have nothing to do when or if there's a revolution in the U.S. because capitalism has already failed. What I do want is for people to realize that systems are built, they work for awhile and then they disintegrate. That's what's happening here.

January 6th, Charlottsville, the armed take over of the Wisconsin State House, Q-Anon.

Why don't you ask these people if they want a violet revolution because from what I've seen, it is the violent right that is running the show here.

U.S. capitalism is over.