Harris Co. Judge, activists calling for Cy-Fair ISD board trustee's resignation for 'racist' remarks
HOUSTON - The NAACP, FIEL, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, and many others, have joined together calling for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD School Board member Scott Henry to resign from his position.
The calls were made after Henry made comments during a meeting on Monday about a study for how the district could deal with better diversity and equity. Henry put his disdain for Houston Independent School District on full display.
BACKGROUND: Cy-Fair ISD trustee's words on Black teachers called 'racist'
"Houston ISD is involved in a huge scandal. In fact, one of their trustees is now in jail. Their COO is under indictment, they're about to be taken over by the state," said Henry. "Houston ISD you know what their percentage for black teachers is 36%. Do you know what their dropout rate is? 4%. I don't want to be 4%. I don't want to be HISD," Henry said.
Hidalgo said on Thursday, "Now what we saw the other night was the racism said out loud, and if we allow this kind of thing in a public forum, by a public official, that represents a school district, what are we allowing?"
DOWNLOAD THE FOX 26 NEWS APP
State Representative Jarvis Johnson during the news conference said, "Henry must resign. There is no place in this state and certainly in school districts where racism should be allowed."
FULL VIDEO: NAACP, FIEL hold press conference amid Cy-Fair School Board member made 'racist' remarks about Black teachers during meeting
NAACP and FIEL held a press conference Thursday to address alleged racist remarks about Black teachers made by Scott Henry, a Cy-Fair ISD School Board Member during a meeting.
Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis added, "Not only were these comments racist, not only were they wrong, they were hateful and not just to people who look like me. It was an embarrassment to all of us."
During the school board meeting on Thursday night, Henry said, "Let me be clear, any suggestion that I said more Black teachers leads to worse student outcomes is a lie, and those spreading it should be ashamed of themselves. There have been threats upon my life and my wife and children have been targeted. We are neighbors, parents. A community having these difficult conversations should not mean lives are in danger. I see you, thank you for being here. Thank you for your thoughtful discussion tonight
As far as the call for Henry to resign, Henry said he won't resign.