Hamilton County, TN, School Board Member Rhonda Thurman Under Fire for Saying "Slaves Learned to Read & I Don't Know Why Poor People Can't Learn to Read & Write"

TN school board member Rhonda Thurman under fire for saying inner-city schools get too much attentions and "Slaves learned to read. I don't know why poor people can't learn to read and write."

Hamilton County, TN, school board member Rhonda Thurman is under fire and being called a racist for comments she made about poor black kids in inner-city schools. In a story published in the Sunday Chattanooga Times Free Press, Thurman said, inner-city schools get too much attention and money without much payoff.

“I don’t think suburban students have been treated fairly,” she said in the story. “Poor people learn. Slaves learned to read. I don’t know why poor people can’t learn to read and write. I have a lot of poor people in my family, but they are still expected to learn.” Source

What? Clearly Ms. Thurman's comments were mean-spirited and can be considered downright racist. Black leaders are calling for her resignation, but she told the newspaper she did nothing wrong and refuses to capitulate. Throw her under a bus, if her intent was to be racist. The same one they threw poor black and Latino kids under in Tennessee and across this country. Let her explain what she really meant.

Let me preface my comments by saying that there real problems in the inner cities across this country and there are some serious disparities in education. If the comments made by Rhonda Thurman were made in the spirit of change, then her choice of words were inexcusable, but the general gist of what she was saying is correct. Inner city schools aren't on par with schools in the suburbs and the expenditure per student is vastly less. Until we can bridge the divide in an adult manner, then hurling accusations of racism and uttering mean-spirited comments aren't productive and will do nothing to fix what ails our kids. Ms. Thurman owes the children of her district more than just "I have nothing further to say and I won't quit."