Howard University Middle School principal suspected of firing teachers for teaching Black History

Howard University Middle School principal suspected of firing teachers for teaching Black History

By Desire Thompson

Parents are furious after a Black middle school principal has fired teachers for teaching Black History in her school.

Howard University Middle School is a school that I guess you wouldn’t expect this type of thing to happen. This is especially true given that the school has an African American principal.

Parents were asking questions regarding why there were so many teachers being fired or quitting in the middle of the school year.

“As parents we just want to get some answers,” said Dorothy Lowery. “We deserve to know what’s going on.”

In the past week, there have been three Social Studies teachers that handed in their two week notices.  Parents say that the new principal, Angelique Blackmon, confronted the teachers a day prior with pink slips.  According to parents, the pink slips were handed to the teachers right in front of the students.

“While students are still present in the classroom? How un-professional,” said parent Delrica Battle. “These children are crying. They said they couldn’t say goodbye. The teachers are upset, the students are upset.”

Another parent, Michelle Payne said, “They were given to them in front of our children and I think that our children do not deserve to see that type of behavior.”

This middle school is a public charter school on the campus of Howard University. Some parents described the new principal as an abrasive woman from Atlanta, Ga.

Parents found it strange that the new principal would want the teachers to stop teaching African American History, given that they are on the cam-pus of an HBCU. Many also stated that the students needed to know their culture, with the school being 90 percent African American.

Blackmon has not responded to ABC 7 News’ request to give an interview or answer any questions, and parents who have met with Blackmon say that they were not satisfied by their meeting with her.

This is strange in every way, I must admit. Why wouldn’t she want the students to know about Kwanzaa, Marion Barry, George Washington Carver, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Muhammad Ali, Madam C.J. Walker, Martin Luther King or Malcolm X? This woman has a lot of explaining to do, and she may end up losing her job.

She could at least talk to the media about what happened, this press isn’t very good for her professional reputation.

What are your thoughts?