Lawsuit: White Teachers At Thomas Mifflin Elementary Told They're Unfit To Teach Black Students

PHILADELPHIA — Four white Philadelphia teachers filed federal race-bias lawsuits that accuse a black principal of creating a hostile work environment and suggesting they were unfit to teach black children.

The teachers work at a predominantly black elementary school that has a recent history of racial tension. Their lawsuits say that a former principal had them read an article that said "white teachers do not have the ability to teach African-American students."

The teachers also allege that the principal, Charles Ray III, and others undermined their work by reprimanding them, randomly changing their room assignments and letting black teachers ignore rules that their white counterparts had to follow. Ray also retaliated when they filed union grievances, they said.

"Charles Ray III consistently stated that he had a relationship with top school officials indicating that his conduct was part of an approved policy or was part of a pattern of practices sanctioned and supported by `higher authority,'" the suits allege.

The teachers – Nicole Boyd, Debra McKibben Marenbach, Colleen Yarnell and Marta Ciccimaro – filed the lawsuits last week, demanding more than $150,000 each. Courthouse News Service first reported on the complaints Tuesday.

The school district had no immediate comment, spokeswoman Shana Kemp told The Associated Press.

Kemp said she was not immediately authorized to say if Ray still works for the district. A message left at a possible home number for him was not immediately returned.

Racial tensions among staff at Thomas Mifflin Elementary School have simmered before.

A white principal left about four years ago amid a chorus of complaints from black parents. One mother testified at a City Council meeting in December 2007 that she had heard the administrator say Muslim students looked like "flying nuns," according to news reports.

In April 2008, vandals defaced a mural on the side of the school with anti-Semitic graffiti.

Ray arrived that fall, and lasted only for the 2008-09 school year, the lawsuit said.

The surrounding East Falls neighborhood is largely white and, in some sections, wealthy. Residents include former Gov. Ed Rendell and former U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter. But many white families in the area send their children to private schools.

Mifflin currently has about 270 students, 86 percent of them black and 85 percent of them poor, according to school district data.

The defendants include the local teachers union and a supervising teacher whom Ray allegedly ordered to go through personnel files and investigate their home and personal lives.

Lawyers for the teachers did not immediately return calls for comment.

Comments

[Gary P]

01:14 PM on 07/06/2011

As I stated previously, it seems like there's a lot of hot language without any strong facts that would indicate discrimination. If anyone has additional information, please be sure to share it. According to the link below, it appears that the White teachers were uncomfortable with this Black principal asking them to make their teaching more effective for their students. This request for culturally responsive teaching seems to only be a problem for "certain" student populations since we don't see the same kickback when wealthy, White parents ask/force schools to comply to the learning needs of their children. If we really want to address academic problems with Black learners, it seems like we should be trying different methods.

http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/item/22151-mifflin-insiders-cry-foul-to-racial-discrimination-suit-

[allisonisa39e]

08:07 PM on 07/10/2011

I don't agree that certain students need special teaching because their skin is a different color.
All teachers should make their teaching effective for all students.
Black, White, Asian and all the others need to be taught from their first schooling experience. Why should students with a different color of skin require different teaching methods.
I don't think there are any studies that show that a person with dark skin can not learn as well as a kid with lighter skin.

[allisonisa39e]

04:57 PM on 05/28/2011

As long as we complain about racism it will continue to exist.
A great black actor stated that if we didn't talk about it for one generation it would cease to exist.

Little children do not notice any difference unless someone tells them there is a difference. They all seem to start kindergarten and the beginning grades about equal, then someone biased their thinking. Did parents or neighbors tell them that ?

[Gary P]

12:13 PM on 07/10/2011

That's the most illogical statement I have seen in a while. When has ignoring an issue ever helped to solve it? Can you provide any previous examples where talking about an issue has perpetuated its existence? Can we apply the same logic to other issues, such as terrorism, global warming, nuclear profileration, poverty, rape/sexual assault, or child abuse? Does talking about these issues also perpetuate their existence?

The desire to effectively address the consequences of racism has a long history. For example, between 1836 and 1844, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced gag rules to avoid discussions on the abolition of slavery. They, like you, preferred to ignore the racial reality.

Finally, babies are able to tell the difference between the "races" as early as 6-18 months (http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/rubbing_off/). We have been performing race for over 400 years, so 30 years of not talking about it won't do much do much good if we fail to address the underlying causes of racism.

[allisonisa39e]

07:57 PM on 07/10/2011

You are comparing apples to oranges.
We are talking about an attitude. Rape, child abuse, terrorism are not attitudes etc are not attitudes.
My little friend who is of another race loves me. She is 3 years old happily plays with children of any race.
If you continually tell people that there is lots of racial tension in an area they will start to attribute any disagreement to racism. I don't like snotty people and I may avoid a person that has not bathed recently but neither has anything to do with race.
Morgan Freeman reportedly stated that if we did not talk about racism for a generation it would disappear.
I don't recall any of my text books saying that people were of a certain race. Why should they ?

[allisonisa39e]

04:26 PM on 05/28/2011

Racism goes both ways.

[JoyceBains]

07:21 PM on 05/27/2011

I call BS. Dollars to donuts says these were the mealy-mouthed, incompetent teachers who were afraid of black students (and their parents) and were talked to/reprimanded by the principal. For all we know, they could've been shown the article just so they could see that yes, there is an "other side", so to speak, a side that they may have been unaware of. It's very possibly (and honestly, most likely) that these teachers are so blind to their own (white) privilege that they just can't comprehend WHY their students would be so indifferent to them. So obviously, they're the problem.

No real educator would EVER suggest that a race cannot teach another race. They may have more problems...they may have an uphill battle...they may have to take things under consideration that they may not want to...but "unfit"? Yeah, right. We've all known teachers - black, white and other - who were tough as nails and took no stuff. Sounds to me like these teachers just couldn't cut the mustard, so they're trying to break the jar.

[PixieGirl0731]

06:02 PM on 06/08/2011

Let me call BS on you! I have seen this over and over! It exists and it is just as wrong as the principals who would not hire a black teacher or a muslim one.

[Gary P]

01:09 PM on 07/06/2011

What have you seen "over and over"? Please provide specific details rather than vague language. If you can cite the numerous examples you claim to have seen that would be great.

[Gary P]

09:09 AM on 05/25/2011

This article appears to be a little short on details and rather long on insinuation and hyperbole. i would like to know the title of the article assigned to these teachers. I find that many White Americans tend to read materials in a completely different manner than Black Americans. Also, I would like to understand the full context of the one quote these litigants provided. Perhaps if the article stated "white teachers do not have the ability to teach African-American students if they are unwilling to understand their biases and accept that their previous training may not have prepared them to deal adequately with African American children." I am assuming most multicultural scholars would be wise enough to not make such blatently biased statements, so I wish I could find more details on this issue.

[PixieGirl0731]

06:03 PM on 06/08/2011

Stop blaming others and work hard.

[Gary P]

01:11 PM on 07/06/2011

Nothing I said has anything to do with not working hard. I never said that Black students shouldn't work hard. Perhaps you should read my response and respond to the issues it raises rather than making silly and unrelated comments.

[sunoftime]

05:03 PM on 05/23/2011

I didn't even finish reading this article. This is absurd. I'm black and quite frankly I am tired of the double standard. Blacks have learned nothing from history. How does one go through all that blacks have gone through, and come out dirtier? Should folks be more humble and more aggressive in their approach to preventing more hateful nonsense. You should think so. All that black principal did was reinforce the same ideas that got us all here to begin with. It's bad enough teachers are having the financial issues they're having today with all the cuts to and disrespect for education. But I'm not surprised. Stupid actions yield stupid results. I feel sorry for the kids because if the color of their teacher is the main concern of the principal then there are obviously bigger issues going on. And this is why education has fallen to the way side.

[PixieGirl0731]

06:05 PM on 06/08/2011

Thank you so so so much for speaking what I see as truth. What we need is to let the teachers teach.

maybe that old bumper sticker should come back.... IF YOU CAN READ THIS THANK A TEACHER!

[massimo]

05:02 PM on 05/22/2011

Lots of comments here seem to endorse the idea that teaching black children requires some sort of special training and cultural sensitivity, as if african americans come from mars and don't share primarily,in the cultural traditions of the united states. I would like to hear a concrete example of this required special training. I think it also presupposes a certain one size fits all mentality, black children are all depressed and dejected?, as one commenter suggests?

[graffitijoe]

11:17 AM on 05/23/2011

Here in SoCal AA students have a 50% high school dropout rate and the one who make it to college have a 66% drop out rate there -so whatever they are doing here, isn't working.

[becut]

03:22 PM on 05/23/2011

Sure...................Af Am and White Am are just alike....................one group simply has a lovely tan.

[allisonisa39e]

04:49 PM on 05/28/2011

Agreed, with that lovely skin one can wear so many clothes that would look hideous on the Caucasian skin.

[feraltyger]

11:05 AM on 05/21/2011

Where are all the demolemmings with their outdated racist card on this subject?

[rstajan1]

10:30 PM on 05/19/2011

White teachers,black teacher, latino teachers can teach any child if they are open to the reality that their perspective and life experiences and assumption have to be examined in light of the possible effect on the child, Period.
I have seen environments where new white teachers are terrified of assertive parents, active black boys and other aspect of being in 100% black environment, I have a friend who is jewish white who can't stand assertive black girls.. I ask her why she can be more assertive like those tough jewish teachers in New York. She says that just isn;t her personality. We'll that's what it takes to reach some of her students. She may need to teach somewhere else.
I've also seen middle class black folks scared of lower income black school.. Everyone has to work to overcome assumptions and understand different ways of relating.
My son' teacher prior to this year all white 7th grade were diverse white, latin asian, black, jewish. I think the problem with one group only at the helm is that a stupid kind of groupthink takes over- white or black or otherwise. Unfortunate.

[phntsticPeg]

11:07 AM on 05/20/2011

Amen! I'm sure those teachers using may be capable but if you can't deal with the culture of the people your teaching then you shouldn't be there. There is no reason to be scared of a child, no matter what their color. You also should not hate what you do not understand. It is that assertiveness in black girls that has helped us survive for years. Celebrate it, harness it for good but don't extinguish it because you don't like being challenged. And I'll bet her response would be different if it was some rich white kid who were also assertive and challenged her....smdh...

[becut]

03:00 PM on 05/20/2011

Really? Teaching is not the issue, learning is what is a problem. Can every child learn from any kind of teacher? My efforts here is about child needs............not the adults need to work.

[rstajan1]

09:38 PM on 05/19/2011

I am dealing with this now with my son in 7th grade. All of his teachers are white. We are black He says he wants to be white b/c of his perception (not sure if its ture) of favoritism. Yet this is his daily reality. I think the principal's behavior if as alleged is horrendous. But I also think this school needs to work hard to overcome a history of horrendous biases of all varieties.
I feel sad for students there. I;m going to move my son next year. No one needs to be in an environment where they feel less than...not students..not teachers no one.

[becut]

10:16 PM on 05/19/2011

Af Am parents really need to work together to protect the children. I had the same experience. I had to end up taking a leave of absence, to home school my son. There is no where to go, even in the Black community, 80% of the teachers are white. You sound like you don't want to offend: the "favoritism" you refer to is "racism", it is ok, being nice to whites will never get you anywhere. When they get behind a voting both they will vote against anything to help Af Am people every time. You really need to read the" Mis-Education of the Negro" by Carter G. Woodson. Dr. Woodson is responsible for Black History Month. He wrote this book in 1933 and and everything in it still applies today. They will never understand what "Victims of Racism" go through everyday. Their "Democracy is Hypocrisy".

[feraltyger]

11:04 AM on 05/21/2011

It appears they're going through it at this school.

[becut]

05:04 PM on 05/19/2011

"THE MIS-EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO", by Carter G. Woodson, 1933. Dr. Woodson states, "When you control a man's thinking you do not have to worry about his actions. You do not have to tell him not to stand here or go yonder. He will find his "proper place" and will stay in it. You do not need to send him to the back door. He will go without being told. In fact, if there is no back door, he will cut one for his special benefit. His education makes it necessary."

If the curriculum is Eurocentric, and the unique problem with Af Am families is that they have no information to counter this propoganda, then whoever is working with these children need to understand the histrorical psychological damage and be prepared to address it. Otherwise, education becomes mis-education.

I see kids everyday taking a back seat to knowledge, because they feel it has nothing to do with them. Af Am children start out in school early achieving fine, but around 5th grade something happens. If you look at their cums you will see the decline. In middle school when the learning becomes more challenging, Af Am children begin to "Float Mentally", because they don't have the confidence to perservere, because they do not have the info where they fit in (from home or school).

[PixieGirl0731]

06:09 PM on 06/08/2011

Is this a social issue? or is it a racial one? I disagree with a lot of this. I would say poor children not black. We have an issue with children living inpoverty who see no way out.

[Smalltowngirl95]

04:52 PM on 05/19/2011

How is this not racism? If the tables were turned and a white principal did this to black teachers you best believe the NAACP would be all over this playing the race card. This is crazy there is such a double standard its unreal...

[phntsticPeg]

11:12 AM on 05/20/2011

The principal should not have said they are unqualified to teach black children - that is flat out wrong.

However, most teachers are white women who do not understand the culture of their students and/or pity them. These kids don't need either. I have yet to see a culture training program for teachers about teaching other cultures other than your own.

If I was teaching Asian students I most certainly would do my homework about the culture and learn as much as I can to be knowledgeable of cultural nuances, mores and expectations.

I have not seen that kind of effort from white teachers I have had and worked with. It is just assumed that their culture, being the dominant one, is the standard that everyone should conform to. And that too is wrong.

[trav45]

10:08 PM on 05/21/2011

This white teacher says "fanned"!

[becut]

04:10 PM on 05/19/2011

People should have special training to work with Af Am children. If you do not have that specialized training you should not be working with these babies. Education for Af Am children is unique due to the lack of self confidence bred into their families over generations of continued abusive treatment in this country. Only recently (since 1965) have Af Am been allowed to vote, move to areas they could afford, work certain jobs, etc. Af Am parents should instll confidence and history that these children need, but the confidence that comes from a historical reference is missing. Af Am history is all about Slavery. There is missing information. Black parents have never learned the information. There is over 5,000 years of confidence building information, but everyone wants to talk about 250 years of slavery. If children must be subjected to European history and accomplishments for 13 years, and receive nothing about themselves (home is unable to filter), specially trained teachers and/or at the very least role models are needed. Af Am children remain at the bottom of every statistical report accademically, across the country. All these teachers want is to work, to do good work. But doing a good job entails instilling confidence, which these babies don't have and it shows up in test results. Get over your love to teach, your right to work, how well you know your subjects. This is about Af Am children that need people to teach them that understand Black Psychological damage.

[Susan Osterhout Troiano]

03:53 PM on 05/19/2011

These are "adults" that are suppose to set good example for our children of all race. You know many children really don't care about the color or religion of a person. It's the adults that act like children. What happened to people's morals? Just teach those kids and keep your comments and race preferences out of the school. No wonder kids are not respecting.

[CommonSense411]

02:38 PM on 05/19/2011

I know i've posted this a thousand times already but its just so important. Teach your children to respect people blindly, regardless of skin color, gender, religion, age, economic level, and IQ level. All people deserve respect. I had a great teacher who once described people as islands in an ocean with bridges connected to all other islands. All islands start out with a bridge to all other islands. Once you burn a bridge its difficult to rebuild one. If something bad happens on your island and your people need help, you may need all of the bridges you can get. The more you burn, the fewer your island's people have to seek help.

[peterhenry]

09:44 PM on 05/19/2011

No man is an island, entire of itself...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."

John Donne (1572-1631)