Greg Howard
The Jackson County School Board has taken action against a teacher who apparently made racial commentary on presidential candidate Barack Obama.
According to parents and students in Greg Howard’s seventh-grade social studies class, Howard on Friday, Sept. 26 asked the class a question regarding Obama’s call for change, and proceeded to write out what the letters C-H-A-N-G-E stood for.
“She told me that he wrote on the board ‘Can You Help A (expletive) Get Elected, and then laughed about it,” said Shelia Christian, a mother of one of Howard’s students.
Jackson County Superintendent Danny Sims said that description of this incident was “pretty accurate.”
Sims said Howard apparently repeated the action in more than one class, having made the comment in “a couple of periods.”
According to a news release from the school board, Howard was suspended with pay on Monday, Sept. 29.
On Wednesday Howard was given a written reprimand regarding his actions, and those actions will be reported to the Florida Department of Education Office of Professional Practices, according to the school board.
As of Thursday, he was suspended without pay for 10 days, was relieved of his football coaching duties, and will be transferred to the Jackson County Adult Education program, according to JCSB.
Howard is also required to submit a letter of apology to the students involved, and is required to attend diversity and sensitivity training, the school board reported.
Sims said Howard’s racial commentary was not directed at any students, but were directed at a political party.
“We’ve handled this swiftly and we’ve handled it with a concern that we’re not going to tolerate it and this is a pretty stiff (action). The situation is behind us and we’re ready to move forward,” said Sims.
“My daughter came home very upset after that happened. When you’re in school teaching our kids, you’re supposed to be teaching them what’s right by the law, not what’s right in your opinion. This is not the stone ages. We don’t come through the back door anymore. I raise my kids to be respectful and they should be led by example,” said Christian.
Suspended without pay for 10 days ??? And people wonder why Blacks feel they always get the short end of the stick. This man should have been teminated for his remarks. If he made a statement about Jewish people I guarantee he’d be fired !!!
October 4th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Well turns out free speech isn’t allowed.
Barack Obama is a socialist, muslim, racist, hillbilly nigger.
Wallballs out.
October 6th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Racist comments/actions are generally given for free. Teachers are not paid to teach kids to be hateful racists - so, why do the tax payers have to pay for this fool’s suspension for 10 days? Suspension with pay is a paid vacation. I agree that he should be FIRED.
October 10th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Not true! I am Jewish and another teacher told me that the way we could end the war in Iraq would be to go to Israel and kill 6 million Jews. I reported it to my school board and nothing was done. I was told they could not get in between a dispute between two employees. More reasons why Florida comes in last as a school system!
October 21st, 2008 at 3:00 pm
The punishment was too harsh and the parents are clearly too sensitive. If it was racist against whites NOTHING would be done. But thats besides the point, this election is so huge and anything remotely racist is being blown out of proportion, when everyone knows the democratic candidate is a joke himself. The sad part about it is that blacks are so proud an “African American” is running when in reality hes not even black. And for the record, Obama is more racist than most of the whites in the south. So the white people voting for him b/c they support “CHANGE” are just as dumb as the niggers voting for him b/c they think hes black.
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:56 pm
Are yall kidding me. Who cares what he said. Im a junior in high school and u hear that crap all the time. Everyone has a opinion. Hell i would have turned it around as said it was a learning experiences about freedom of speech but the possible consequence of your actions still occur. Oh and wope-de-do-da he is a teacher. what make a lawyer, ceo, or any other individual different from making the same statement?? Lets say you said that do u think u deserve to get fired for a racial comment plz get over it you sensitive bitches!!
October 28th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Here we go again crossing hairs. At what point to we stop sheltering our children? We are more than willing to establish a pecking order in schools. put condoms in thier bathrooms, teach them sex ed earlier and earlier. Expose them to ubseen literature, sell them products, get them addicted to Hanna Montana, give them violent video games, yet we get up in arms because he tells a joke that is most likely a lot more mild that what they’ve just heard (or told) in the hallway by thier locker. If school is supposed to be a sterile academic learning environment, then it needs to be completely sterile, not just selectively. In addition, the concept of offense to statements and action taken on them is a violation of first amendment rights.
October 29th, 2008 at 3:00 am
You idiots are so touchy… who gives a damn what he said. You are the reason for terrorism in America. Always looking for something for free. FUck off you ignorant bitches. Quit acting like a nigger!
November 3rd, 2008 at 4:16 pm
I agree with you Joe…who gives a crap that nigger is gonna get shot while in office!
November 3rd, 2008 at 5:16 pm
I will enjoy the daywhen this Nigger as you so called people, and I use the term people loosely because you’re walking and talking pieces of shit that should be wiped off the ass of the planet and flushed down the toilet, is running the country. You let another piece of shit ruin the country for 8 years and now that someone is better qualified to do a better job you can’t see past the fact he’s black. We, the blacks, know how hard it is to accept the fact we have bigger dicks and your wives, mothers and daughters fantasize about it, but now there might be a black president, hurts don’t it needle dick?
November 4th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
To all you ignorant un-educated white racist who are upset that you cowards can’t accept or ever change what might happen is a true example of the intolerance that exist in today’s society. Believe me i understand that’s why you continue to hide and speak freely among this internet but in reality are scared of black people’s true existence in america. Power is something rooted deep in the black race not ignorance that’s why you believe to hate what you will never control anymore. I was raised to believe not all white people are DUMB like the previous statements above but just lost and confused more likely scared and ignorant to the facts. Racism is strong to this day living as a educated black father of this future generation i teach tolerance for a better understanding to my child. MAY GOD BLESS YOU and if you’re not woke up in time HELL has a place for you to burn for eternity.
November 5th, 2008 at 2:14 am
quit acting like a bunch of niqqers
November 5th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
who ever heard of a black man named BRIAN? COME ON… TRY AGAIN
November 5th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Well of course all of you are going to say that he should be fired. but we all know that if a black teacher said something about McCain it would be alright and it wouldn’t be news. Also i am in high school im a junior. and i have had a few teachers that were black and every one of them have made racial jokes about white kids. and we have informed our administration about these incidents and they said alright and then we never heard about it again and the teacher did not get in trouble at all. but a white teacher at our school told a black kid to be quiet. and so he told the principle and the teacher got in trouble for “racial comments.”
November 5th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
Im black & proud. you said you teach tolerance. but yet you say everyone who dont like obama is “just ignorant white racists” ? i may be a junior but i dont think that shows much tolerance on your part.
November 6th, 2008 at 8:18 am
go scott im black and proud is just a racist cunt and to the rest of you’s stop acting like a bunch of niggers
November 6th, 2008 at 8:19 am
HEIL SATAN
November 7th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
a black guy saying nigger is as racist as a white guy saying nigger. if you are offended by this you were probably as sheltered as these kids are. you learn from jokes like this, and this was funny. niggers are extinct, i don’t see why the word is even offensive any more. if i make a nigger joke, it is because of the reaction it provokes. the reaction is is an over reaction. this teacher shared a funny acronym with his classes. unfortunately for this teacher, his superiors were most likely as unfortunate as the students they are protecting, sheltered and hidden away from reality. it seems like people are only offended when a white guy says nigger, i hear asian people, black people, indians, and nearly any other culture use the word nigger, and it is acceptable, whereas this teacher at most implied that nigger was the (expletive), and the students filled in the rest. this teacher didn’t call anyone a nigger, and didnt fill in the blank, he devised a partial acronym for the students to complete.
November 8th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
it’s not a joke, it’s true.
November 11th, 2008 at 7:40 am
PRS if you would pull your head out of your ass and read the article he got a 10 day suspension, UNPAID. What kind of vacation is that? You moron. And Im almost positive that more than one of the “African-Americans” have clearly made a joke about McCain, but do you see us Caucasians making a deal about it? No, cause we can handle a joke! If anyone in this world is racist, blacks have got to be the most racist people I have ever met. I personally think McCain/Palin would have been a better choice for office. Has anyone took the time to see all the similarities between Obama and Hitler? Obama preaches about this “change” he is going to make, but does anyone really know what this changes entails?
There goes everything this country was founded upon out the door. What happened to the first amendment.. FREEDOM of SPEECH!
And just like Will Smith said, now you blacks dont have a reason not to have a damn job. Stop living for free and get your racist ass to work. We dont owe you shit!
November 11th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Nigger have a different meaning coming from someone white. blacks, native americans,and asians did not own slaves,so therefore it doesn’t carry all that historical baggage with it(read your history). To this very day I will not let my children play “Hangman”. whats fun about lynching? if everyone treat everyone the way they would like to be treated, we would not have this problem. I think the teacher is frustrated with his job and angry that someone black is in a better position than he will ever be. he still have that slave master mentality thats been passed down from generation to generation he is white and there’s no other race superior to his. (and this guy would benefit under Barack’s plan of raising teachers salaries):-( he should be reinforcing the message that you can be whatever you want, if you study and work hard in school. heres an acronym for CHANGE: compassion, humanitarianism, acceptance, neocolonialism, generates egalitarianism. if he wanted to tell racist jokes he should of been a comedian and not a teacher.
November 14th, 2008 at 3:32 am
Attention: May I have all peoples attention- black, and white. For one white people need to stop using the word nigger, and everyone else including blacks need to too. Blacks need to stop being so sensitive to racial overtones, cuz yall have all us whites on pins and needles. Really in truly if yall dropped the race issue we would too. Most whites that are 40 and younger are not rasist at all. Yeah we might stereotype people a little, but thats human nature. I know I really dont look at race. I have black friends, I voted for obama, and I would date a black woman. I actually have more love for a person of african descent that treats me with respect than I do for a white person because that person isnt looking at my skin color. Racism goes both ways. I’ll admit when I see someone acting inappropriatley and they happen to be black I have racist thoughts sometimes- so I don’t know maybe we should all just act right. Cuz I tell you what I have this elderly black man who is a customer of mine and he has never once brought up race and he always talks to me about life and the journey that hes been through and he tries to help me out and I love the guy. I look at him like a father figure. If everyone including whites was like that we wouldnt have any problems. So to all you whites when you have a problem with a black person dont call him a nigger or even think that way becasue thats why blacks think all whites are racist. And to all you blacks treat us white people with respect, even after youve incountered something you think was racist earlier in the week or day and we will treat you with respect. Believe me most of us are looking for reasons to be friends and respect you. That might sound stupid but this race crap is getting old I hate it. Most white people - I would say 9o percent look at blacks as equals, but sometimes its hard to make a connection cuz there is a wall there. If you polled whites on weather they are racist or not it would probably be 95% not racist, but if you polled the same whites on what percentage of blacks they thought were racist it would be around 65%. WE are out of the slavery era and the civil rights act happened quite some time ago. My generation is raising children that are for the most part color blind dont give them a reason to see color. I’ve been getting a lot of rasist obama jokes on my phone and I’ll have to admit they are funny but hey I’m white I can’t possibly understand what it would make a black person feel like. The reason they are funny is just becasue of the stereotype not how I feel about black people because I dont feel anyway about black people as individuals because they are just people just like me. I could here white jokes all day like when i listen to chris rock, and I think that its funny as shit and I think it should go both ways but I also understand that there is a pain felt when black jokes are made. I wish blacks would lighten up and I wish whites would understand that its still a sensitive area. I really think that the vast amounts of whites that voted for obama and even the ones that didnt feel like it is a great historical achievement. Remember obama got more of the white vote than Kerry did in 2004, and I for one think Obama is going to make a great president. God bless everyone and lets work on reaching an understanding not bulding a higher wall
November 14th, 2008 at 3:51 am
and in regards to what bonnie was saying. This is one of the big problems. Will whites stop joking about blacks beacuse its sensitive. Maybe in another 40 years lol. And Bonnie I dont think the guy has some slave master mentality and I am not saying that cuz im racist I’m saying it because I know how most white people think. Obviously this guy is a knuckle head and maybe he really is racist, but I could see somone doing that as just as joke cuz thats what it was. Still a knucklehead though. You know like a blonde joke. I’ve told a lot of blonde jokes but thats just a stereotype, and not true at all. Most blondes I’ve met have actually been pretty dam smart……but I’ll still tell blonde jokes. You might say theres a big difference, but I say theres not. We are still talking bout pigmentation- ridiculous right? However there is culture, abuse, and scars when you talk about pigmentation of skin color. Honestly me and most of my white friends who would like to throw up when we hear about slavery don’t want to have to wear that scar with you - we care about all of it but we want to move past it and really we’d do just about anything to help heal it. Everybody watched roots when we were younger in school and we cried, it was awful. My dad told me about racism back in the 60’s and that was awful. I’m sorry I don’t see it now, I just see misunderstanding on both sides. Lets work to reach that understanding not assume things. Just remember there is only one race and thats the human race
November 14th, 2008 at 3:53 am
and if any white guy has read my comments and doesnt agree with it then you are either an uneducated hillbillie or dillusional and need help either way.- your sick
November 14th, 2008 at 4:07 am
one thing I will say about blacks and I’m just trying to work on the understanding here. A lot of blacks have a lot of hate and it is directed to white people. It’s understandable unlike hillbillies hate, but hillbillies are a very low percentage of whites and I run into blacks all the time that truly come across as though they are looking to blame and want reparation. So all of you good to do black folk like bonnie have to understand that we white people deal with this a lot and it doesnt make us racist but it adds to stereotypes.
Stop the hate- start the love. Refer to people as people
November 17th, 2008 at 11:02 am
I’ll tell you how this thing happend. Some black kid who is failing this guy’s reported him to the administration for this because he doesn’t like the teacher for failing him. I am a teacher in the New Orleans area and I tell you kids who don’t do anything in class think they deserve a better grade simply because they are black and when a white teacher (or any other non-black teacher for that matter) fails them for not doing anything they are quick to report them. It’s sick and sad. If a black teacher made a comment about McCain NOTHING would be done. Racism accusations are a handicap for black people. It’s like insurance for them when they can’t get ahead any other way. Black people need to take responsibility for themselves for once! Stop blaming the white man for everything!
November 17th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Obama won bitches!!!
November 18th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
I love it when white peeople start getting fretfull of the fact that they have very little velue on this planet anymore wish they would just accept that they are history.
America has finally come home to roost,
November 19th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Well if it was a black man making a racist joke against a white man, it would be all in good fun, REDICULOUS. 10 days suspension is fine, quit playing the damn race card. You cant use the its cuz hes white excuse anymore, theres a black president
November 21st, 2008 at 10:30 am
obama is a G dumb fucking hicks dont like him cause he is not like you its not his fault that he dosent want to fuck sheep and suck dick thats your thing he dosnt want to take it
November 21st, 2008 at 10:32 am
there is no white jokes the only white joke are on hicks and thats a good thing if he tells hick jokes be cause they fuck sheep and start aids
November 21st, 2008 at 10:00 pm
well all I can say is that Obama is the end of life as we know it… The economy is already screwed and he will make it worse. Not to mention the social uprising in the black community that I already see….
I am not racist in the least, nor do I think that children should be taught to be. What the teacher did was wrong on many levels.
Moreover I think there are nig*rs in many different colors, weather white black or otherwise… I have always considered it another name for a**hole.
I do see a lot of black people that “profile” and desirve the title nig*r, in my opinion these people (the ones that wear pants half way down their arse and hold their sack, and act like they are better then all) should outright be called on their behavior… it is unacceptable.
my 2 cents
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:54 pm
I’ll tell you what..im sick and tired of hearin’ barack obama and race in the same sentence..truth be known, blacks are more racist than the white and all the ones who wanna bring up the slavery crap never lifted a finger bein a slave and probably wasnt even born to know anything about it..yeah he got in trouble for what he done but yet you have a black person make a racial comment and nothin happens…im sick of it…a friend of mines son had a comment made to him in school by a 15 year old boy and he told him that “you know that since obama won, when he takes office, you white folks are gonna be the one pickin the cotton” what the crap does a 15 year old have to do with slavery, for someone to state that comment to him?? but nooooooooo youll never hear those kind of remarks goin public….all i can say is GET THE CRAP OVER IT! blacks are just as racist as the whites….when they stop bein racist thats when i will..
November 27th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Below would happen if everyone lived by the same code. I went to a comedian with my wife; my wife was targeted by the “man of color” comedian. Everyone laughed at his off color jokes about my Caucasian wife. If this so called comedian wouldn’t joke about race with off color jokes, and if he was joined by all his bruthas, we wouldn’t have race problems as we do.
Suspended without pay for 10 days ??? And people wonder why Blacks feel they always get the short end of the stick. This man should have been terminated for his remarks. If he made a statement about Jewish people I guarantee he’d be fired !!!