A teacher at Habersham Ninth Grade Academy was ordered to remove a Black Lives Matter sticker from a storage cabinet in his classroom after the secretary of the local Republican party made an angry post on social media.
Kelly Miles, who also serves as First Vice Chair of the Habersham GOP, posted a photo of the BLM sticker to her personal Facebook page. Above the picture, she wrote in all caps, “MY TAX DOLLARS DO NOT GO TO TEACHERS PROMOTING THEIR POLITICAL BELIEFS. YOU’RE PAID TO TEACH NOT INDOCTRINATE.” Miles tagged the school principal and county school superintendent in her post dated September 10.
While it’s not clear how Miles obtained the photo, it’s obvious the impact it’s had. Her post went viral, eliciting hundreds of comments from people all over the country. Some readers supported her view while others found it offensive.
A Habersham County 9th-grader said he and a lot of other students in the teacher’s class were “very disturbed” by the sticker, not because of what the teacher believes, “but because he brought it to school where his job is to teach, not to show his political aims.”
Some people called for the teacher to be disciplined, even fired.
“It needs to come down – all Lives Matter,” wrote Lakeeta Tyre. Chris Clarke said, “Someone needs to lose a job. That will stop this crazy mess.”
Many who spoke up in support of the teacher denounced Miles as racist.
“If a sticker upsets you more than the deaths of sons, sisters, and uncles, then you ma’am are part of the problem,” wrote Paige Tate. “Because if ALL LIVES MATTER, then why aren’t you mad too?”
Several of Miles’ online critics say she’s hypocritical for not calling out the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) poster displayed on the same storage cabinet seen in the photo. “Students shouldn’t be exposed to teachers’ religious beliefs either, right?” asked Adriana Paramo. (FCA is a school-sanctioned, non-denominational Christian sports ministry.)
Some people even went so far as to call Miles’ employer, posting the office phone number on social media and encouraging others to do the same.
The backlash has been so severe that Miles filed a complaint with the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office.
On September 12, Habersham Sheriff’s Lt. Murray Kogod told Now Habersham, “We did just receive a report in reference to Harassing Communications arising out of the situation on Facebook. We will be reviewing the facts and conducting an investigation into the matter.”
Fear of losing his job
Kerri Merriett is among the Habersham school parents supporting the teacher. Her son was in his class last year and still talks about him today. “He is an amazing teacher and stands up for his students of color and minorities,” she says. “He made a positive lasting impression on my son.”
School officials have not released the teacher’s name. Merriett says he wants to remain anonymous “for fear of losing his job.”
In addition to her now 10th-grader, Merriett has three other children in the Habersham County school system. Her children are bi-racial. Merriett claims racial issues are frequently “swept under the rug” in Habersham schools and says it was “hypocritical” of the superintendent to make the teacher remove the sticker.
“They told him it was a political issue and was a violation of school policy, but students are allowed to fly Confederate flags and Trump flags,” she says. “If you are a person of color, it is sending a loud and clear message that we do not support you, and we do not stand up for you. And we won’t allow our teachers or staff to either.”
Habersham County School Superintendent Matthew Cooper insists the school system “takes a strong stand” against racism and discrimination and defends his decision.
“Our schools do not permit staff members to demonstrate items that are tied to any form of political expression,” Cooper tells Now Habersham. “Our teachers must ensure that what they say or stand for brings unity, not division.”
Veiled reference
On Thursday, the Habersham GOP Facebook page, which Miles oversees, posted a message regarding the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. It recounts the sense of national unity that was evident in the wake of the attacks saying, “Today, let’s all live that unity once again.” That statement is followed by what appears to be a veiled reference to the Black Lives Matter movement. “On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, and the days that passed… We all mattered, our flag mattered, our country mattered. It all mattered.”
Now Habersham asked Miles for a written interview. She agreed but never responded. When we followed up with her, she said she could not comment on an “active investigation.” Habersham Ninth Grade Academy Principal Connie Franklin did not respond to our request for comment.
For all the derision and division blamed on the movement, BLM protests have raised America’s social consciousness. During peaceful protests this summer in Clarkesville, several black and Latino students spoke about the racism they’ve experienced in Habersham County’s public schools. Soon after, the school system developed an anti-racism/non-discrimination statement that upholds every students’ right to a safe learning environment “regardless of race, religion, beliefs, gender, or sexual orientation.” According to the statement, anyone in the school system who believes they’ve experienced racism or discrimination is encouraged to report it so that the matter may be investigated and “appropriate action taken.”
