The headmaster of a private Christian school started by First Baptist Church in Orlando, Fla., said Aug. 25 that he is taking “deliberate steps” to deal with students who created a social media controversy by posting racially insensitive messages on Instagram.
A conversation over the summer among white students at the First Academy Christian School considered whether the preferable way to describe a dark-skinned person is ending a racial slur with “a” or “er.”
New York Daily News writer and civil rights activist Shaun King wasn’t amused, sharing the conversation by Twitter with the comments “public conversations white kids at First Academy in Orlando have” and “it’s a ‘Christian’ school.” King then quoted from letters he received on Facebook from former students at the academy who claimed persecution because of their race or sexual orientation.
Steve Whitaker
TFA headmaster Steve Whitaker responded with a statement saying the school is “appalled by such inappropriate comments posted by some of our students” and “does not condone or support this conduct, and will not tolerate this type of behavior.”
“We have taken and are taking, deliberate steps to address this issue,” said Whitaker, who is listed as a staff member on the First Baptist Church of Orlando website.
First Baptist Church, a Southern Baptist megachurch recently in the news for hosting a prayer vigil following the June 12 mass shooting that killed 49 people and wounded 53 at a gay nightclub in Orlando, founded The First Academy Christian School in 1986 and graduated its first class in 1994.
The school self-describes as “a Christ-centered, college preparatory, private school serving over 1,450 Central Florida students from preschool through high school,” on its website.
Whitaker, who has led the school since 2003, said the incident convinced administrators “there is much work to do in the area of racial reconciliation that we must take ownership of.”
“We will continue to learn from this experience and are committed to do the necessary and important work to grow as a school community in this area of racial reconciliation,” the headmaster said.
“Let me state unequivocally that any comments related to race or culture that are discriminatory in attitude or action will not be tolerated,” Whitaker wrote. “Despite our longstanding tradition of acceptance and inclusivity, we remain an imperfect school made up of imperfect people in need of God’s grace and forgiveness.”