By Kevin Palmer
The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School district in North Carolina made history by hiring the first female Africa American superintendent, Dr. Angela Pringle. Hopefully, she will not be another well compensated do nothing for Black student house Negro. Perhaps, this time Black parents will have an ally with the courage to change the slave plantation attitudes which appear to be fueling the disparity in suspensions between Black and white students.
Black students make up less than 30 percent of total enrollment in the school district; yet, Black student suspensions have quadrupled the number among White students. According to North Carolina Department of Instruction data, in 2017-2018, Black student suspensions were 60 percent compared to only 12.49 percent for White students.
It is time for North Carolina education leaders to stop blaming the disparity on cultural differences. In America’s past, Blacks were publicly lynched and treated as second class citizens be-cause of racism, not cultural differences. Similarly, racism appears to be a factor driving the disparity in suspensions between Black and White students.
Hopefully, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School district’s first female African American superintendent will not be a benign token Black puppet but will confront the racist attitudes influencing the disparity in suspensions.