Eye-rolling at the principal, according to teachers at an elementary school in Oregon, is an act of aggression “rooted in white supremacy.”
After learning that their principal, Cynthia Lam Moffett, would lose her job, BIPOC teachers at Errol Hassell Elementary school submitted a letter to the administration on May 27, according to Fox News.
BIPOC stands for black, indigenous, and people of color.
“We believe that much of the resistance to Principal Moffett’s work… is a result of bias and targeted aggression. As BIPOC educators we have observed, experienced, and witnessed similar micro and macro aggressions,’ the teachers said in the email.
Staff members rolling their eyes “during meetings while Principal Moffett was speaking” was one example of the micro and macro aggressions listed.
The employees allegedly used profanity, interrupted Principal Moffett during meetings, and spoke disrespectfully and aggressively, according to the teachers.
The lengthy email also cited “aggressive emails” and “behaviors” on the school radio “directed toward BIPOC staff,” and the teachers said they were being “ignored and othered.”
The BIPOC teachers said white staff at the school dubbed a group of BIPOC staff “a gang” and that they were aware of “racial slurs” being “directed at Principal Moffett by a staff member.”
A list of issues that the teachers felt need to be resolved was provided, including ‘staff opposing district policy relayed by Principal Moffett,’ BIPOC school staff being called ‘divisive for bringing up these issues and asking for support,’ and Principal Moffett being ‘held responsible for addressing and solving situations of racism in which she is a victim.’
In the email, the teachers say they have not been given ‘any clear next steps to address all of these aggressions,’ and ‘feel that the actions we have witnessed and experienced this year have greatly harmed us.’
A list of demands was given at the end of the email, including a confirmation that Principal Moffett would not be terminated, an investigation into the ‘biased and racial aggressions,’ and a call to stop staff members from ‘ignoring the chain of command by having direct access to the executive that supervise’ Principal Moffett.
The story comes only a couple of months after President Joe Biden complained that teachers not be ‘the target of the culture wars.’
The President, speaking at the 2022 Teacher of the Year ceremony in April, said ‘today, there are too many politicians trying to score political points banning books, even math books.’
‘They’re all our children,’ Biden said. ‘They are not somebody’s else children. They’re like yours when they’re in the classroom.’