Superintendent Anthony Lewis called for respect and professionalism towards school administrators at a school board meeting Thursday, responding to a contentious exchange at a Feb. 19 “meet and confer” session where he was addressed by his first name.
“As a Black man serving as superintendent, I cannot ignore the historical context in which informality toward Black professionals, particularly those in positions of authority, has been used to diminish status and erode credibility,” Lewis said. He stressed the need for local leaders to model respect for the district’s students.
Lewis’s comments come on the heels of a Feb. 19 meeting between district leaders and members of the Durham Association of Educators (DAE). Relations have been strained between the district and the DAE in the wake of a 2023 pay debacle involving school system workers.
Towards the end of the meeting, which had run overtime, Twietmeyer, a white woman, continued to speak into the microphone, reiterating the association’s demands for higher pay increases for classified and certified staff. After nearly two minutes, Lewis interrupted Twietmeyer.
“Mika, we’re done. The meeting is over,” he said.
“Thank you, Anthony,” Twietmeyer replied, after a pause.
On Monday, the Durham Association of Educators released statements from Twietmeyer and the DAE’s meet and confer team. In her statement, Twietmeyer wrote that she had apologized personally to Lewis the day after the meeting, adding that she will “commit to using appropriate titles moving forward.”
“As a white person, addressing a Black person in this unprofessional way caused harm, and I take responsibility,” she wrote.
The incident unleashed a stream of criticism from those who saw the exchange as racially motivated.
District leaders and community members have expressed their support for the superintendent and criticized the perceived racial slight. Bettina Umstead, chair of the school board, published a statement on her Facebook page on Feb. 20 calling Twietmeyer’s use of Lewis’ first name a microaggression.
“I voted for Meet & Confer because I believe collaborating with our educators can improve working conditions therefore improving student outcomes,” Umstead wrote. “What we’ve seen has not been about collaboration, it’s about power.”
Millicent Rogers, vice chair of the school board, posted a recording of the exchange on her Facebook page. “Advocacy that abandons respect––especially when directed at [a] Black man in leadership––crosses a line,” she wrote.
Ronda Bullock, founder of anti-racist advocacy organization we are, penned an open letter condemning Twietmeyer’s words and calling for her resignation from the DAE. The letter was signed by dozens of Durham students, teachers, parents, and school board members past and present.
Others have called the reaction overblown.
One popular Bull City Reddit post called Twietmeyer’s apology “unnecessary,” while Durham resident Donald Hughes questioned the outcry over the breach of etiquette in an op-ed published by The News & Observer.
The superintendent’s comments have also been published as an op-ed in EdNC.
Above: Superintendent Anthony Lewis, pictured at a school board meeting earlier this year. Photo by Reece MacKinney — The 9th Street Journal
Tanya Wan
