Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Parents defend UK headmistress after she was forced to apologize for lesson on Black History Month, but won’t give their names

Parents defend UK headmistress after she was forced to apologize for lesson on Black History Month, but won’t give their names

Parents have stepped up to defend the head teacher of a Kent boarding school after her groveling apology for offending students by tracing the roots of the UK’s Black History Month to a 1926 US observance of ‘Negro History Week’.
Samantha Price, head teacher of Benenden girls’ school, “unreservedly” apologized for her use of the word “Negro” during the assembly, historically contextualized as it may have been, noting some pupils had complained the term was offensive and appeared to have confused it with a similar-sounding racial slur.

While several parents stepped up to back the headmistress, none who spoke to the Times of London on Monday were willing to give their names, suggesting they, too, might be afraid of backlash, whether against themselves or their children from others at the school.

Explaining she was trying to impart to the girls “how far language around black people has come” since 1926, when the US first set aside a week to commemorate black history, Price insisted it was “never my intention” to “have caused offense to some pupils” with the historically-accurate assembly address, framing her use of the offending word as an “error.”

“In hindsight, I recognize that it was not necessary to use the specific word,” she stated, though it’s not clear what she thinks she should have said instead.

While just a handful of parents were willing to speak up for Price to the Times, including one prominent surgeon of South Asian descent who called her a “wonderful headmistress” for trying to promote “education and debate,” none who were quoted were willing to give their real names.

This would suggest that the head teacher’s apology may have had less to do with a few pupils’ complaints and more to do with forces present outside the school environment.

“I believe her point was not only to explain the origins of Black History Month but also to demonstrate how language evolves and changes its meaning over time,” another parent told the outlet. This individual seemed relatively well-versed in the history of the observance, citing black historian Carter G Woodson’s decision to title it ‘Negro History Week’. Yet, the parent still wouldn’t go on the record with their name.

That parent blamed the students’ “rumor mill” for implying that Price had in fact said the “n-word” instead of its more innocuous cousin, which was still being used by some black people to describe themselves racially in the Civil Rights era of the 1960s.

Price had also questioned the continued relevance of Black History Month in 2020 during her speech to the pupils, given that “black history should be fully immersed in UK culture by now.” It’s not clear if any of the students (or their parents) took offense at this.

Student “outrage” over the mishandling of Black History Month has been heavily hyped in UK media this year as months of protests against racial inequality have roiled the US and trickled over to its political allies. “Dozens” of students at Nonsuch High School for Girls apparently staged a protest earlier this month, five months after a student allegedly “expressed racist views” during a Snapchat argument with another student in the aftermath of black Minneapolis man George Floyd’s death in police custody in May.

The school insisted it only learned of the conversation a week before the protest and has since disciplined the student.

In June, hundreds of former students at elite south London institution King’s College School Wimbledon reportedly signed a letter demanding the school “decolonize” its curriculum. A similar letter was also sent to Malvern College in Worcestershire, according to UK outlet iNews.

Meanwhile, numerous US colleges have been besieged by faculty demanding nothing short of a ‘woke’ return to segregation, with black faculty members to be given preferential hiring by committees of black administrators and subject only to review by members of their own race.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×