Firing of Tennessee Teacher

Floor Speech

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Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I was saddened when I read this morning about an incident concerning a teacher and a school board in East Tennessee. Matthew Hawn was fired for teaching about white privilege to his largely white classes of Contemporary Issues students in Sullivan Central High School in Kingsport, Tennessee. Mr. Hawn used both historical and contemporary examples, including the recent trial of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd. The General Assembly of Tennessee recently outlawed teachers from teaching critical race theory or ideas that any race is ``inherently privileged, racist, sexist or oppressive'' and backed the law with financial penalties. This sort of legislating is a throwback to an earlier period of intolerance and fear of history and science. Our state's reputation was stained in the 1920s by the prosecution of Dayton, Tennessee, schoolteacher John Scopes for teaching evolution. I had hoped those days were long behind us. I guess not. Confronting painful periods in our country's history--such as slavery, segregation, the Trail of Tears, women denied voting rights--will make our students more tolerant, aware and worldly. I am deeply troubled by what has happened to Mr. Hawn and I hope decision makers will restore him to his place in the classroom where he can challenge young minds with new ideas.

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