Amy Strickland, vice principal of Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk, Virginia, decided it would be funny to retweet “every white girl’s father’s nightmare” along with a picture of seven white girls and their black prom dates.
The tweet went out last June, but students just recently discovered it. After being ignored by the district school board, a dozen African-American students walked out of their classes carrying protest signs.
Strickland, a former teacher of the year, has issued a statement via her attorney, explaining herself and apologizing for the tweet:
“The ‘tweet’ appeared to me at the time to have been an attempt at good natured humor concerning mixed race couples attending a high school prom because I have two daughters who in fact did attend proms with African American dates, I casually forwarded the ‘tweet’ last June to one of those daughters. Media reports suggesting that I am racially prejudiced are one thousand percent false, as my record and my many students, colleagues, friends, and family members who are African American can and, if necessary, will attest. I deeply apologize to anyone I have inadvertently offended.”
Her lawyer said the tweet was an attempt at “good-natured humor.”
Michael Lemelle, one of the students who walked out, told WVEC:
This was the only actual way we could get someone’s attention, was to walk outside. It shouldn’t have come to this, but [Strickland] avoided all meetings and public speakings and emails, just avoided them all
Whether a poor attempt at a joke or a bigoted attack, a school administrator should definitely know better.
H/T: WVEC Image Via Twitter
