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Texas principal forced to resign amid critical race theory controversy

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James Whitfield, the principal of Colleyville Heritage High school in Grapevine, Texas, has agreed to resign following a series of controversies surrounding the subject of teaching critical race theory in schools, which Texas governor Gregg Abott has banned.

The principal has been embroiled in controversy for months surrounding parent’s ideas that Whitfield is pushing extreme ideas and Critical Race Theory (CRT). While it was not proven that either the high school or Whitfield had been actually teaching the controversial theory, a number of incidents led to his suspension and ultimate resignation (MSN).

NBC News reported that in one such incident, the principal wrote an email to the school community following the death of George Floyd writing that systemic racism was “alive and well.”

Texas governor Greg Abbott signed a bill in July of this year that limits how current events are discussed in public schools in the state. The bill included a list of historical documents that must be taught to Texas students and the bill mandates that “the history of white supremacy, including but not limited to the institution of slavery, the eugenics movement, and the Ku Klux Klan, and the ways in which it is morally wrong.”

The bill also stated that teachers cannot be forced to talk about current events and if they do discuss them during class, they must ‘give deference to both sides’, which proponents of critical race theory opposed. According to the Texas Tribune, opponents of the bill say that the new legislation “limits honest conversations about race and racism in American society and will force teachers to equivocate on controversial or sensitive topics” (MSN).

ARTICLE: ABBY RANCOUR

MANAGING EDITOR: CARSON CHOATE

PHOTO CREDITS: NBC NEWS

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