A Message From The Publsiher
By Bobby R. Henry, Sr.
As I watched the news outlets reporting on the White supremacist who killed 10 Black people and wounded several others at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, I was sickened. Prior to the shooting, the White supremacist posted a 180-page manifesto which detailed the delusions of a killer who wished to contribute to the genocide of a race of people because of what has been coined, “The Great Replacement Theory”. Unlike those who spout Critical Race Theory from their mouths without any real clue of what it is, I am going to define the Great Replacement Theory (TGRT) for you. Simply stated, these are White people who believe that Jews, Blacks, and other minorities are replacing them in the workplace, in social class and influence in America. And they are in a rage. In the most overt and extreme ways, people who subscribe to this theory will carry out some of the most heinous crimes like what occurred at the grocery store in Buffalo, NY this weekend or in Charleston, SC when Dylan Roof entered Mother Emmanuel AME Church and killed eight Black parishioners and their pastor.
The acts of brutality and blatant disregard for true education and the lies coming from Governor DeSantis’ lips along with his redistricting efforts to White-out Black districts, doubled down with efforts to disenfranchise Black voters, beckons us to ask, is this ‘The Great Replacement Theory’ at work? I tried not to, but it is difficult to not, however, make a connection to what is happening with the dismantling of departments, adding new positions, and doing away with others in the BCPS as a form of TGRT.
Could there be a purposeful and covert whitewashing in Broward Schools that may very well be linked to what some may have perceived to be “The Great Replacement Theory” under Runcie’s leadership.
Theory” under Runcie’s leadership. Undoubtedly, Runcie hired a great number of Black leaders at the Executive level inclusing Dr. Antoine Hickman, Mickey Pope, Phillip Dunn, Dr. Valerie Wanza, and Maurice Woods are a few who come to mind. These leaders were there to promote equity for all students, with a particular focus on creating and promoting equity for underperforming and underrepresented students. It’s painfully apparent that Broward Schools has made a sharp, 180 degree turn to begin dismantling what was supposed to be done in support of these students.
What does Superintendent Cartwright respect about Broward Schools current organizational structure? Must not be too much. In essence she changed the entire chart. She took a machete and went in with red rage. Most notable are the changes to the Office of School Performance and Accountability (OSPA). The complete department has been eliminated and restructured to the pre-Runcie, three geographic area model with an added area consisting of 19 nontraditional schools. In just a few short weeks, Dr. Valerie Wanza’s supervision of more than 225 schools and principals will come to a screeching halt, almost immediately.
There is, however, an opportunity for the Superintendent to hire a deputy superintendent for teaching and learning (replace Balgobin), and three regional superintendents, but there are four less directors who will work directly with schools. Currently, eight of the 15 directors are Black, which is a little more than 50%. The OSPA department, in its current composition, is probably the most racially diverse and closest to the racial makeup of students in the school district than any other department. Will it remain as such, or will the white washing continue? Superintendent Cartwright has an opportunity to right her cart and hire Blacks in three region superintendent positions and 11 directors of teaching and learning positions whose jobs are to work directly with school principals, teachers, and students.
On April 25, 2022, the Westside Gazette sent a public records request to obtain district administrators broken down by race and gender effective April 2022. To date we have yet to receive this information. It is probably a good thing as I need the same information again as I am beyond curious to know the exact percent of Black administrators to lose their jobs as compared to Whites and what the racial makeup will be once the organizational chart is approved and all positions are filled. Here again, the representation of the 42% of Black students in Broward Schools is in question.
They say change is good, but how much change is too much change? Is it change for the sake of change or done to undo what is perceived as The Great Replacement under former superintendent Robert Runcie?
Essentially what Cartwright has done with these massive changes within this organizational chart is to create yet another pandemic of which Black, Brown and lower income students will be the biggest losers. While people are meandering about in the dark trying to make heads or tails of who is on first base and how to find the school cafeteria, who loses? You got that right. Black, Brown and lower income children.
In the COVID-19 pandemic, White and affluent children did not experience the huge levels of learning loss and devastation during the chaos. But Black, Brown and lower income students haven’t recovered from the effects of COVID-19, yet here we go exposing them to another virus before they have the chance to recover from the one they have been through the last two years.
What does it all mean? Do we wake up in a month or two and all these changes are in full swing? How will it all be communicated? How will it all roll out? Will it all be up and running by August when school starts or better yet, over the summer when parents and student are eagerly anticipating the start of school?
We all know that efforts to help Black and Brown children in education move about as fast as syrup in an icehouse. Our Black and Brown babies cannot wait that long, and neither will the Westside Gazette.
The Westside Gazette is watching.
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