Only One Way to Say Racism, R-a-c-i-s-m.

THE RACISM OF WHITE AMERICAN EDUCATORS WHO WOULD PREFER TEACHING AN INCOMPLETE, DISHONEST AND RACIST AMERICAN HISTORY.
A Pensacola, Florida elementary school teacher reportedly quit the day before school started after a district employee allegedly took down pictures of Black heroes he had on the wall of his classroom.

According to the Pensacola News Journal, Michael James, formerly a teacher at O.J. Semmes Elementary School, sent a letter to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Escambia County Superintendent Tim Smith Monday calling the incident “racist behavior” by the district employee, who allegedly said the posters were “age inappropriate.”

He resigned Tuesday morning as an exceptional student education teacher, just one day before the 2022-23 school stated.

Pictures of Martin Luther King Jr., Colin Powell, Harriett Tubman and George Washington Carver were reportedly some of those removed from the classroom.

James said he put up those posters because a majority of the students were Black, and he wanted to motivate them with inspirational people they could “look up to and see themselves.”

The district’s superintendent responded to the incident, telling the news outlet that teachers are allowed to decorate their classrooms with educational materials and was unaware of a policy that would have stopped him from putting up pictures of “inspirational American heroes.”

The district gave a statement that said they’re going to investigate the incident. The employee, James reportedly identified as a board-certified behavior analyst for the district, allegedly came into James’ classroom on Monday to help him set up his classroom for the upcoming school year. At one point James turned around and saw the employee taking the pictures down. James said the employee also took a picture of Barack Obama off his desk.

James resigned shortly after the incident, saying he couldn’t work for a district that would “condone such behavior,” a report said.

He quit, as many schools in Florida, and the nation are experiencing teacher shortages.