When the firing of a principal raises bigger questions than one person’s bigotry
Dismantling racist policies is harder than destroying tangible symbols of racism
n New Orleans, we took four Confederate monuments downlast month. But living tributes to white supremacy are still among us: racist teachers and schools with discriminatory policies are hurting black children every day. Statues can be taken down; but we must topple the structures that create unconscious and conscious biases against black students.
On May 25, the Nevada-based management group of the New Orleans charter school, Crescent Leadership Academy, announced the firing of its principal, Nicholas Dean. He had been spotted in a photograph standing next to a man holding a Confederate flag in Lee Circle, where the statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee was scheduled to be taken down later that day.
Dean originally claimed he was just there to witness a historical event. But it didn’t take long for his leanings to become apparent. Three days later, a video surfaced of him being interviewed on an alt-right podcast. Dean, who is white, wore two rings associated with Nazism and white nationalism; one was emblazoned with what experts described as the Nazi SS Skull and the other with the German Iron Cross. Rite of Passage, the chain that manages Crescent Leadership Academy, then determined he wasn’t a good fit for the job.
Dean led Crescent Leadership Academy, a last-chance school for students who have been expelled, for three years. Eighty-four percent of its population is black. The termination of someone who, ridiculously, describes himself as a “might supremacist” (as opposed to a white one) shouldn’t distract us from bigger questions. We should demand to know how Dean was hired in the first place, and, moreover, why he lasted so long in the position. But there are bigger issues at hand: namely, the dubious merits of second-chance schools.
Join the conversation later on Andre Perry’s radio show, “Free College,” hosted Tuesdays on WBOK1230 in New Orleans at 3pm Central/4pm Eastern 504.260.9265.
Since his firing, Dean has offered multiple arguments via social media on the so-called hypocrisy of race and liberalism that burdens When the firing of a principal raises bigger questions than one person’s bigotry - The Hechinger Report: