Running Head:TEACHING HATE 1

Teaching Hate

Robert Ehrman

College of Southern Nevada

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Cross Referencing

In this scenario, Ann Griffin, a teacher at a predominantly African American High

School, claimed she “hated all black folks” while in the middle of a heated argument with her

superiors. Assistant principle Jimmy Brothers, and principle Freddie Watts, both African

American, were present. After several staff members voiced their concerns about Griffin’s

behavior, it was decided that the best course of action was the dismissal of Griffin. As her

personal opinion made clear, Watts had serious concerns about Griffin’s ability to fairly assess

her students. This scenario poses the direct question, “What happens when freedom of speech

and civil rights collide in the classroom?”.

A case posed in the favor of Griffin would be Pickering v. The Board of Education

(1968). In this case, Pickering was dismissed of his position as a teacher, due to the fact that he

had sent a letter to a local newspaper denouncing the intended allocation of funds in a recent bill.

The Supreme Court would eventually rule in favor of Pickering, stating that his First

Amendment right to free speech was violated. I believe this case supports Griffin, as it shows

that her status as a public servant in no way dismisses her constitutional freedoms.

Another case in favor of Griffin would be​ Tinker v. Des Moines Independent

Community School District (1969). In this case, students were banned from wearing armbands as

a gesture to protest the Vietnam War. The Supreme Court ruled in Tinker’s favor, claiming that it

was a violation of their First Amendment rights. This directly applies to Griffin’s case, as the

Supreme Court stated, “It can hardly be argued that neither students nor teachers shed their

constitutional rights to freedom of speech and expression at the schoolhouse gate”.

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A case that can be seen as going in favor of the administration would be the famous civil

rights case of Brown v Board of Education. The court ruled in favor of Brown, finding the

segregation of schools based on race to be unconstitutional. This case makes a strong point for

Principle Watts, the case itself makes a loud proclamation that the public school system takes

racism seriously, and that it has no place in the eyes of education.

Another case against Griffin would be Downing v. West Haven Board of Education

(2001). When school teacher Ella Downing was ordered to remove or cover-up her “Jesus 2000 -

J2K” T-shirt, she refused claiming it was her First Amendment right to do so. The courts did not

determine this to be true, as the slogan on the T-shirt directly violated school policies. This case

hurts Griffin’s free speech argument. As it is shows that even with your First Amendment rights,

there are certain criteria that must be taken into consideration. Namely, the rights of others and

best interests of the students.

I believe Griffin’s grounds for dismissal were fully justified. Watt’s was acting on both

the best interest of his African American students, who are at risk of being treated unfairly by

Griffin. Also Watts was acting in the best interest of the school, as the OCR (office for Civil

Rights) enforce numerous civil rights laws. Keeping Griffin would have been a risk of losing

federal funding, as well as respect and credibility among the local community.
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References

Pickering v. Board of Education ​391 U.S. 563 (1968)

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District ​393 U.S. 503 ​(1969)

Brown v. Board of Education 347 U.S. 483 (1954)

Downing v. West Haven Board of Ed. 162 F. Supp. 2d 19 (2001)