Principal apologizes for warning parents about black man

SAN DIEGO — The La Jolla Elementary School principal apologized this week for an email to parents that she says unintentionally perpetuated stereotypes about black people.

The school will hold a forum on Monday at 6 p.m. regarding the matter and how to “support all families” at the school, according to Principal Donna Tripi.

Last month, Tripi warned parents in an email about a man who had allegedly stared at and followed a parent’s daughter at a local Starbucks. Tripi described the man in her email as “an African American male about 30 years old, about 6’1”-6’2”, dressed in all black and a hooded sweatshirt.”

The email went on to give parents security tips “to keep your children safe,” including calling the police “if you see something that doesn’t feel right.”

This week, Tripi sent another email to parents apologizing for her description of the man, which was so vague that it wouldn’t help anybody in identifying the man, but included details that aligned with stereotypes about black people.

“My email was a mistake. While it is critical to keep our school family safe, the way I communicated didn’t provide enough specifics to identify the individual, but could easily lead to unnecessary and harmful reactions against other members of our community,” Tripi wrote. “African American males continue to face discrimination in our society every day. The thought that I unintentionally contributed to that climate with a vague email is something for which I owe our community an apology.”

That was a problem for Andr Branch, president of the San Diego Branch of the NAACP.

“This apology is as disturbing as the original email,” Branch said. “She repeats the description of the man, mentioning his race, but not that of the parents or the children. This repetition reinforces the idea that the parents and their children have something to fear from African-American men.”

Branch said he believes it was the man’s African-American identity that generated the fears reflected by the parents and principal.

“They have no more to fear from African-American males than they do from white males in hoodies or white males in suits and ties,” Branch said. “If their concern had nothing to do with this man’s race, it would not have been mentioned.”