Watch CBS News

White Principal Sorry For Slur In Black History Month Speech

HYATTSVILLE, Md. (AP) — A white principal at a private school in Maryland says she regrets using a racial slur referring to black people during a Black History Month assembly.

Citing a release from New Hope Academy Principal Joy Morrow, news outlets report a keynote speaker had canceled just before the school's annual assembly, so Morrow decided to give a talk she gave 25 years ago about what Martin Luther King Jr.'s teachings meant to her.

A native of Dubuque, Iowa, she says she warned the children in grades 6 to 12 that she would use the slur to explain what she "experienced growing up in an all-white, racist community."

She said the word inadvertently distracted some students, so she regrets using it. The school has since held discussions with students and faculty.

Follow @WJZ on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook

(© Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.