A Kansas principal was allegedly forced to apologize to high school staff after showing them a video about white privilege, KMUW reports.
The incident started in January when Principal Tim Hamblin reportedly showed Derby High School staff a 2011 video focused on the perspectives of Dr. Joy DeGruy. DeGruy, who is a Black author, spoke about her personal experiences with racism and white privilege.
The story was about her being forced to present identification to a grocery store cashier, while her sister-in-law, who has a fair complexion, did not have to do such a thing. The relative ended up calling out the store manager and staff for racism.
“She used her white privilege to educate and make right a situation that was wrong,” DeGruy says in the footage. “That’s what you can do every single day.”
The girls basketball team watched the same video following a racist incident in 2021, and Hamblin’s intent was to have the teachers be aware of what the students watched, according to reporters. A teacher later complained to Derby school board, claiming it was “offensive” and created a “hostile work environment,” KMUW says.
As a result, school board members reportedly ordered Hamblin, who worked at the high school since 1996, to apologize to staff.
“I apologize to anyone that felt the video or its content which reference[d] white privilege made them feel uncomfortable, awkward, harassed, or that it created a hostile work environment,” the principal said in a statement, per KMUW.
A spokesperson for the school board told reporters they “had made no directive regarding specific videos or teaching materials of this type.” KMUW reached out to Hamblin for comment, but he declined.
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