SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) — A high school teacher in Sacramento is facing criticism for comments he made during a school board meeting last week, blaming white supremacy for parents demanding that schools reopen.
Kennedy High School Latin teacher Damian Harmony has been featured in articles in Newsweek, Fox News and the Daily Mail, which all said he called parents who want schools to reopen “white supremacists.”
Those outlets reported that Harmony chastised parents for treating teachers like a “wait staff.”
Harmony originally shared the comments on his Facebook page, telling his followers he read the comments to the board of the school district his kids attend, not to the school district for whom he works.
That Facebook post has since been taken down from his page.
Harmony declined to comment to KTXL.
His employer, the Sacramento City Unified School District, did comment on the matter.
Mr. Harmony’s statement was not made in his capacity as a district employee of Sacramento City Unified School District, but in his personal capacity and through the public comment portion during a different school district’s board meeting regarding that district’s reopening plan.
The tone and sentiment of his personal statement does not reflect the official opinions or policy of Sacramento City Unified School District. As has been communicated by our district and as agreed upon by the Sacramento City Teachers Association, Sacramento City Unified School District will reopen on April 8, with robust safety protocols in place and under guidance by the CDC and California Department of Public Health, and Sacramento County Public Health.
Tara Gallegos, Sacramento City Unified School District Chief Communications Officer
It’s believed Harmony made those comments to the Washington Unified School District in West Sacramento. However, that district has not returned requests for comment.
The WUSD Parent Coalition sent a letter to the district and the district’s superintendent Tuesday in response to Harmony’s post.
Our grassroots coalition represents a beautiful cross-section of families that span all cultural, socio-economic, political and religious spectrums. The one issue that has united us above all others is the fundamental belief that the children of this community need to be back in the classroom with their teachers and friends as soon as possible.
We are deeply saddened and disheartened by the public comments presented to the Washington Unified School District (The District) Trustees on the morning of Sunday, March 28. These baseless and divisive comments issued by Damien Harmony have now become the focus of national and international headlines.
WUSD Parent Coalition
The coalition also demanded WUSD publicly renounce Harmony’s comments and return to full-day, in-person lessons by April 12.