Teacher suspended after discussion with student about gay, racial slurs

THE TENNESSEAN

A Metro Nashville middle school teacher with a long history of opposing gay bias was suspended without pay for asking a black student how she would feel if he called her by a racial slur.

Stephen Henry, a sixth-grade teacher at Creswell Arts Magnet School and the newly elected vice president of the Metro Nashville Education Association, probably will serve his three-day unpaid suspension near the start of the 2007-08 school year, according to school officials.

The 21-year teaching veteran was placed on administrative leave May 23, about a week before the end of school. He plans to appeal the decision.

Last month, Henry overheard a female student, whose name was not released by school officials, describe something as "gay."

Henry, who declined to comment, told school officials he wanted to use the incident as a way to educate students about offensive words.

"Because it has been my practice all year long to address teachable moments when they present themselves ... I felt compelled to pursue that lesson," Henry wrote in an e-mail to Principal Dorothy Gunn.

"I stated that regardless of what one means, when emotionally-charged words are used, the intent of the speaker is often never heard or understood by those who actually hear the offending words."

According to other accounts of the May 15 incident, he then asked the student how she would feel if he called her the offensive slur.

The student responded by saying, "How would you feel if I called you a cracker?"

Later in the week, the student told her mother, Anzora Lee-Starks, about the discussion. Lee-Starks went to the principal.

"I don't think he meant it to come out the way it did, but I think my daughter was very hurt, and I was very upset about it," she said. "I teach my children not to use that word. I think he made a very poor choice in trying to explain something that is over their heads and using the n-word in the way he did."

Lee-Starks said her daughter was bothered because she felt the teacher was using the "what-if" scenario as an excuse to call her the racial slur. Lee-Starks said Henry apologized for the incident, and she felt his apology was sincere. But, she said, she doesn't believe he should have been explaining such a sensitive topic to sixth-graders by using such a racially charged word.

"I think he's aware what he said was inappropriate for that age group," she said. "Maybe high school or college you might have that kind of exchange and be able to say the word and it would be a discussion. It wasn't a discussion."

In addition to being a teacher, Henry is a professional actor who has won numerous awards as a human rights activist and serves as vice president of the Tennessee Equality Project, a group dedicated to advancing the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents.

He also is a member of the executive committee for the Metro Nashville Education Association and teaches training courses on safety and gay and lesbian issues.