Don’t discourage teachers from speaking about racism
“I’m just a baseball coach and a social studies teacher.” That’s how Matt Hawn, Sullivan Central High School teacher for 15 years, describes himself.
On Aug. 27, 2020, a complaint was filed against Hawn for material about white privilege he used in his 2020-2021 school year contemporary issues class, which he had taught for a decade. On Jan. 17, 2021, he received an email from a parent about another material he used in class. The material in question is an essay written by author Ta-nehisi Coates titled “The First White President” and a video of Kyla Jenée Lacey’s performance of her poem, “White Privilege.”
On Feb. 3, Hawn, who is white, said he was reprimanded by Sullivan County School officials for the use of profanity in Lacey’s video and how Hawn didn’t feature a differing viewpoint with the two items. On May 5, he received dismissal charges, taking effect on May 10. In June, Hawn appealed the charges after the board voted to continue his dismissal, starting the legal process.
Hawn thought it was important to address the issues of police brutality and systemic racism after the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota and the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha Wisconsin, leaving him paralyzed. More on that later.
Officials say critical race theory ban unrelated to his firing
According to The Times News, Direc75% tor of Schools David Cox said Hawn’s dismissal had nothing to do with Tennessee’s recent ban on critical race theory passed in the General Assembly on May 5 and later signed by Gov. Bill Lee on May 24.
The Times News reported that in a hearing on Aug. 16, Ingrid Deloach, assistant director of Sullivan County Schools, said that Coates article was from “a very liberal perspective,” and added “Maybe a more conservative stance would have been an appropriate alternative.”
Though school officials claim critical race theory (CRT) is not the reason for Hawn’s dismissal, Tennessee’s CRT debate makes Hawn’s case specifically interesting.
In the over 10 years of teaching the contemporary issues class, Hawn said he’s tackled issues regarding the LGBTQ and #Metoo movements, but he’s never been reprimanded for teaching either.
The course description of the Contemporary Issues standards found in the state website states:
“Students will use inquiry skills to examine the issues that impact the contemporary world. Included in the course will be analysis of the historical, cultural, economic, and geographic factors that have raised certain issues to levels of concern in our nation and around the globe. Students will engage in research and problem solving in order to better understand and assess significant current issues.”
It’s no coincidence that Hawn’s use of material that centers around white privilege is under fire in a state that has banned CRT. That conversation might be hard for a community like Sullivan County, where the population of white people is 94.8%.
Let’s also take in consideration how of Sullivan county’s voters voted for Trump in the 2020 election. In his last year in office, former President Donald Trump banned the teaching of diversity and inclusion on a federal level and was publicly against The New York Times’ 1619 Project, which acknowledges slavery’s systemic impact in our country.
With the context given above, it would be an insurmountable task for a teacher like Hawn, in a tight community like Sullivan County, to teach issues so close to our personal lives.
But not doing so would be a disservice to the students and what it means to be a teacher.
Teaching history, not fantasy
During the conversation I had with Hawn, I joked how my experiences with high school coaches who also teach class fall under the “watch a movie while they sit in the back” stereotype. We both chuckled but Hawn understand how real that stigma is and said how much he strives to break the mold.
What seems to be forgotten in Hawn’s case is the mission of teaching, and for him, it centers around community.
“Teaching to me means that these people are going to be part of my life forever. I’m gonna be a person that they call. I’m gonna have my little community of Matt Hawn students and whenever they need me, I’ll be there.”
That passion for his students is what drives him to push the envelope because he knows they will have to address these issues in the real world.
Hawn is aware of the challenges these conversations are, but he remains confident in his students.
“I know the political climate that we’re in.” says Hawn, “but that doesn’t mean we should stop having difficult conversations with students because when the adults are fighting over it or having issues, the kids still wanna learn about it. It’s disingenuous to not let them have these conversations because they want to.”
In the case, the main argument from the school board members and also of parents is the need for more differing views on issues like white privilege and systemic racism.
But I ask, what is the differing viewpoint to racism?
What else will we whitewash? Will the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection be labeled as a misunderstanding, or will it be covered at all?
If the last four years have taught us anything, it’s that the younger generation cannot escape what’s going on in our society.
We need teachers like Hawn who are courageous enough to give a space for young minds to take what they hear out in the world and process them in a safe space.
How can we honor the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement and the current push if we don’t prepare our students for when they’re asked, “What do you think?”
Racism is tough to talk about, but we are undermining the knowledge and eagerness of students when we decide what they should learn.
Lebron Hill is an opinion columnist for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee and the curator of the Black Tennessee Voices newsletter.
Feel free to contact him at Lhill@gannett.com or 615-829-2384. Find him on Twitter at @hill_bron or Instagram at @antioniohill12.