Friday, March 29, 2024

Staten Island Assistant Principal Under Fire for Racist ‘Black Privilege’ Post

Deborah Morse-Cunningham
via New Dorp High School

*A Staten Island assistant principal is under investigation after a statement about “Black privilege” that was posted to her Facebook page.

“What is privilege?” Deborah Morse-Cunningham, 48, of New Dorp High School asked in the post, which has now been deleted. 

“Privilege is wearing $200 sneakers when you’ve never had a job,” read the statement, per NBC News. “Privilege is wearing $300 Beats headphones while living on public assistance.”

The post went on to say: “Privilege is living in public subsidized housing where you don’t have a water bill, where rising property taxes and rents and energy costs have absolutely no effect on the amount of food you can put on your table.”

The post was spotted by a parent who slammed it as racist and launched a Change.org petition calling for Deborah’s termination. 

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The petition said Morse-Cunningham, “has decided to use her platform and social media presence to post anti-Black messaging.”

“Deborah Morse-Cunningham, a longtime educator and assistant principal at New Dorp High School on the South Shore of Staten Island, has decided to use her platform and social media presence to post anti-Black messaging during this time,” the petition stated. 

Adding, “She recently posted a rant to her public Facebook page, detailing vicious stereotypes and racial profiling directed at the Black community. As someone responsible for the tutelage of our youth, this is especially troubling and problematic rhetoric to say the least.”

The petition – which has more than 9,900 signatures – goes on to state: “This leads me to question what kind of practices she’s instilled in the culture at New Dorp High School, and what kind of environment our children are learning in, especially Black youth.”

According to The Daily Mail, the school “has a minority enrollment of 49 percent” and “nearly 60 percent of students are economically advantaged,” the outlet writes. 

In a statement on Tuesday, DOE press secretary Miranda Barbot noted that “The DOE stands against racism and schools must be safe and inclusive learning environments. Teachers and staff have a responsibility to uphold those values, and the principal reported this incident for investigation”

 New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also commented on the controversy, saying  “No one in a position of authority should use racially insensitive language, especially someone who’s an educator and kids look up to.”

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