Angelica Ramos
Contributing Writer
MONTGOMERY CO. – Montgomery County School Board member Penny Franklin has asked the board to discuss the occurrence of hate speech in Montgomery County Schools specifically pertaining to the usage of a racial slur against African Americans and to enact some policy or consequences for hate speech.
At the beginning of the June 18, 2024 Montgomery County Public Schools School Board meeting, Board Member Penny Franklin asked to add an amendment to the agenda to discuss hate speech, specifically the use of the “n word” to the meeting’s agenda. This motion was approved and set for this discussion to be added to the new business portion of the meeting.
“After the comments I made last week or two weeks ago,” Penny Franklin said, “related to the resignation of one of our employees and the reference to the ‘n word’ being used, I have been approached by several folks and students talking about how the ‘n word’ is used. And part of that conversation is that it’s like “the” and “and”. And so, it’s used constantly, all the time, and even when it is asked to be addressed, it’s not being addressed by administration and by teachers. This is something that’s been ongoing for years and every time that it’s said ‘This is the way it’s going to work’, that lasts about two hot minutes and then it reverts back to ‘I don’t know what I’m supposed to do’ or ‘I just ignore it’ or in some cases even trying to help the black student understand why they might be part of the problem; why they’re called the ‘n word’. This is real.”
Franklin told the board there needs to be an explanation as to why this behavior continues, that these issues need to be reported and brought to the attention of the superintendent and other reporting higher ups, and that the community needs to know what to do to better help themselves and their children when these incidents occur. The superintendent and the board agree that hate speech is not to be tolerated in Montgomery County Public Schools and those who do will be held accountable.
“I will guarantee you this,” Superintendent Dr. Bernard Bragan, Jr. said, “I will do what you ask, Miss Franklin, and reinforce with everyone that they understand that this is zero tolerance. There are certain zero tolerance things that are inappropriate and this is one of them. That word has no place in common language and definitely not in our school systems whatsoever. I’m appalled if school administrators who hear this or somebody brings it to them, don’t know what to do. That feels like a no brainer to me in 2024. I will do whatever I can to get the word out and support that this is totally unacceptable, that it’s a zero tolerance as far as I’m concerned. So, I will reinforce that I will get that out there and we will hold people accountable.”
