see CITIZENS

Continued from pg. 1 tively – were packed with people, many of whom made their voices heard. In all, 37 people spoke during the board of supervisors meeting (all but one on this topic) and 21 in front of the school board, with some overlap of speakers.

The core issue started with the question of what people feel should or should not be taught to students in Powhatan schools. But over the course of two nights and because of the expansion beyond the initial purview of the school board, the scope of topics expanded to issues of budget controls, the validity of Critical Race Theory, racism, and, in some ways, Powhatan’s very identity.

While some of the topics discussed were already highly likely to be brought up at the school board meeting, comments made a week earlier by supervisor Mike Byerly, who represents District 3, heightened the tensions and brought them boiling over a night earlier.

During the discussion about the budget on May 3, Byerly spent 30 minutes talking about school funding and implying he would base his decision about the budget on what the school may be teaching or ideologies it may be promoting.

While the broader topics were always present, many of the people who spoke to the supervisors on May 10 addressed Byerly in particular, either offering support and appreciation for his comments or expressing hurt from them and asking for an apology. His questioning of school curriculum and what taxpayer dollars were being spent on, as well as the way he approached the subjects, brought strong reactions in many ways.

In the days following the May 3 meeting, two different petitions were started as a result on Change.org on the topic. The fi rst, which was created on May 7, is a petition in support of Byerly, praising him for having the “courage to speak up and ask the ‘hard questions.’ The second petition, which was created on May 8, called Byerly’s comments dismissive of the lived experience of people of color and asked for an apology.

After the last of the speakers had shared their thoughts with the school board, the actual topic that many people said drew them to the meetings – hearing the school division address Critical Race Theory (CRT) in the schools and the use of controversial resources – was treated almost as an afterthought. The school board took a brief break between the public comment period and moving on with the rest of the agenda, and the update on the development of a new elective African American History class – the catalyst that started this discussion – was held within minutes of calling the meeting back to order. But by that time more than half of those who came to the meeting had already left.

Dr. Eric Jones, superintendent, assured the audience that remained that the course is being built for Powhatan and will refl ect the community, including the inclusion of local history. He stressed multiple times that the controversial New York Times’ 1619 Project that was spoken about by so many will not be used as a resource for developing the class.

“We stated that back in February and we have stated it emphatically ever since then – that the 1619 Project will not be part of the curriculum of this course. There are lots of other, very valid curriculum resources that can teach a robust African American History course that will allow students to critically examine African American contributions to our country and their role within that country. That is what our goal is and that is the goal of the course,” Jones said.

Jones also stated unequivocally that they “have no plans to, have never had any plans to, and will not use Critical Race Theory in this course.”

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Recent history

While discussions about racism and education are by no means a new topic, the current iteration of the local discussion began to bubble over in December 2020. The school board was asked to consider the course planning guide for the next school year, and on that list was the elective African American History class.

Although the fi nal class curriculum would be built by Powhatan County Public Schools, the Virginia Department of Education, which offered the framework for the course, also included with it a list of possible resources school divisions could use to create their courses. Among those was the 1619 Project.

Even before the board had its fi rst discussion on the issue on Dec. 8, 2020, members said they had been receiving concerned emails and calls. At the school board’s Dec. 10 joint meeting with the board of supervisors, 10 people spoke about the ideology behind the terms equity, diversity, and inclusion, which have been a big focus for PCPS in recent years. While none of the speakers stated they were against approving the history class, a few did specifi cally oppose using the 1619 Project as a resource.

At the Jan. 12, 2021, meeting where the school board actually approved the course guide, several people spoke in support of the history class, and some even defended the 1619 Project as providing a perspective that challenges people to think critically about history.

The school board did ultimately approve the course guide with the new elective on Jan. 12, but it was with the understanding that staff would be coming back with updates from the committee of educators working on it.

The fi rst update on the African American History class was scheduled for the school board’s May 11 meeting. In addition to his assurance that neither CRT nor the 1619 Project would be part of the course, Jones said people interested in the development of the course can follow its progress in posts on the school division’s website, http://www.powhatan.k12.va.us.

He also pointed out that 31 students at Powhatan High School have signed up for the elective course and another 43 have it listed as an alternate in case they are unable to get into one of their other electives. He said he is happy to see so much interest in the course.

The public speaks

On May 10 and 11, a combined total of 46 people spoke at the two meetings (11 people spoke at both) regarding these topics. Both meetings saw some high emotions, including small arguments among speakers at the board of supervisors meeting and the school board addressing outbursts and trying unsuccessfully to make everyone in the audience adhere to the mask mandate.

While there wasn’t a strict dividing line that every speaker fell on one side of, many of the comments tended to lean to one side or the other.

On one side were people who agreed with Byerly’s comments; spoke of the need to keep CRT out of Powhatan schools; said they did not want to encourage issues that cause obvious divisiveness in the community, and said that since it is the board of supervisors’ job to oversee the budget, Byerly had a right to ask the school board for transparency.

On the other side were people who said they were deeply hurt by Byerly’s comments as dismissive to the realities of racism they face – both in the schools and the communities; argued for the need to have the African American History class to offer people the opportunity to learn more about the contributions of people of color; argued for the inclusion of more perspectives when looking at history; outlined examples of racism observed by students in Powhatan schools, and requested the board of supervisors fully support the schools.

Sarah Taylor, who said she started the petition in support Byerly, spoke at both meetings. While she believes racism still exists and children need to learn about other cultures, she said that CRT and the 1619 Project are not the ways to teach it. She and many other speakers said these theories focus on oppression and division and deny the principals and freedom on which the nation was founded.

Rebecca Courtright, who started the petition asking for Byerly’s apology, told the board of supervisors that his approach to the issue didn’t involve good budget questions. She said she thought he was a supervisor elected to represent all of his constituents, “not a Fox News commentator.” She also said his comments hurt people in the community because the words dismissed their experiences.

Joe Ordia, who spoke at both meetings, shared the story of his father emigrating from Nigeria to the

see CITIZENS, pg. 7

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