CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A teacher who used to work at a Charlotte charter school is suing his former employer, claiming the school bent to parent pressure over claims he taught Critical Race Theory in the classroom.
Markayle Gray's attorneys from the law firm HKM said he used the book "Dear Martin" during a Black History Month unit for his seventh-grade honors course at Charlotte Secondary School. The novel deals with a teenager's emotions after being racially profiled by law enforcement.
However, HKM said some parents - who are white - reportedly complained to school leaders, despite the novel being approved by the administration. In their suit, HKM said the principal, Keisha Rock, saw firing Gray as the only way to avoid pressure from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. According to HKM, a complaint had been circulated to the DPI about the novel's use in the unit.
Additional political pressure was mentioned in a press release from HKM including a state House bill passed in March 2023 that, if made law, would restrict how teachers could discuss race and gender in schools.
Artur Davis, the lead attorney for Gray's case, told WCNC Charlotte they were filing the challenge under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prevents employees from job discrimination on the bases of race, religion, sex and national origin.
"We understand and believe there was political pressure that affected this decision," Davis said. "But we believe that this political pressure and this parental pressure was also accompanied by old-fashioned race discrimination."
Davis cited Charlotte Secondary's own handbook to describe the typical proceedings a teacher could face if there are complaints, specifically with terminations dealing with performance issues or policy violations. Davis said the school "completely disregarded" the handbook with Gray's firing. Additionally, Davis alleges the school has been inconsistent with how it's responded to parent concerns.
"We believe that there's been a double standard at this school," he said. "We believe that there have been African-American parents who've raised concerns candidly about certain white teachers and things that they've said or things that they've taught in the classroom. We understand that, in those instances, instead of the teacher being fired or disciplined, the African-American child has been assigned to another classroom, and the African-American child in some cases has been threatened with punishment."
HKM notes Charlotte Secondary's student population is mostly made up of students of color, with about 85% of students identified as Black, Hispanic or biracial.
"[The school talks] about meeting children where they are, that's a pitch they've made to many parents who go to this school. What signal do you think it sends to the teenagers of this school, you see a young man who looks like many of them lose his job?" Davis asked. "Because he taught a book that contained some truth and contained some honesty? What life lesson do you think that sends these teenagers at Charlotte Secondary? Instead of standing behind the teacher who was speaking to the truth that these young people face in their lives?"
Davis noted that if the case reached a jury, Gray would be seeking monetary damages for the loss of his job, along with additional compensation for reputational and emotional damage.
WCNC Charlotte has reached out to Charlotte Secondary for comment and has asked the Department of Public Instruction for further confirmation of a complaint. The DPI offered this statement from a spokesperson:
We have no record of this complaint. However, if we did, it would be considered a confidential personnel record as it relates to school employees and would therefore not be subject to public disclosure. Again, our agency has no record of this complaint.
As of publication, Charlotte Secondary has not responded.
Contact Shamarria Morrison at smorrison@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.