Members of the Humble Independent School District Black community, elected officials and leaders are calling for the removal of the newly appointed Superintendent Roger Brown for using a racially-charged word.
The incident was brought forth by Humble ISD’s chief education support service officer Henry Phipps during a public hearing. Phipps said he was one of the 100 employees who heard Brown say he wanted to “lynch the mayor”, referring to Mayor John Whitmire, and “hang him from a tree” for how he dealt with electricity issues during Hurricane Beryl.
Brown, who leads a school district with more than 48,000 students (26% African American and 38.3% Hispanic students), has apologized for the remark. During a school board meeting, he explained how a photo showing “the struggles of daily living” in the Old West caught his eye, which is when he said, “Do you remember when Hurricane Beryl hit last summer and how we wanted to lynch CenterPoint and the mayor?”
“This was in reference to being without power and air for days but then I turned to this picture and I said ‘But they never had it,’” Brown added. “I then made a comment about how blessed we are and I never meant for this exaggerated comment to be taken literally.”
Call to action
Brown’s remarks prompted the Houston NAACP to organize a town hall at The Luke Church, where community leaders condemned the superintendent’s use of a term rooted in racial violence.
Bishop James Dixon II said Brown used his influence in racially derogatory ways and asked for his removal through a legal procedure. He tied the incident to a nationwide rollback on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
“The leader of the Humble ISD has made some of the most egregious, insulting, offensive, derogatory comments possible,” Dixon said. “The language of someone who absolutely has no self-control, self-awareness, no socioeconomic reality.”
Calling for accountability, Jackie Anderson, chair of the Houston NAACP education committee and president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, believes that if Brown could use the word “lynch,” it was in his heart.
“When we hear about egregious acts of things that are said by people who are leading us and leading our district and our children, we need to be upset about it,” Anderson said. “I’ve never used such a word about anybody at any time, and I think it’s highly inappropriate.”
Sergio Lira, president of the Houston chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) stated there is no excuse for invoking a word also steeped in anti-Latino history. Lira emphasized that lynching was not just a historical reference, but a reality that claimed thousands of lives, including at least 871 Mexican Americans after the Civil War.
“When you use words that are unprofessional, inappropriate, offensive, that tells me that you’re not professional,” Lira said, asking for Brown to resign. “You’re not competent to lead a district where the vast majority of students are minority students.”
Community members weigh in
Several attendees said Brown’s language only highlighted long-standing issues of discrimination and inequity in Humble ISD, particularly for Black and Latino students. Attorneys in the audience called for an immediate lawsuit against the district. Speakers also urged community members to vote for school board candidates in the upcoming trustee election in May, who would take action to remove the superintendent if the current board of trustees does not.
Attorney Ima Turner, who is also a member of the Lake Houston Civic Engagement Coalition, criticized the Humble ISD school board for failing to condemn the superintendent’s “lynching” comment. She argued that the current board was not likely to be challenged until voters took action.
“I struggle to find the nexus between that picture [that Brown referred to] and his use of the word ‘lynching’ to ‘lynch the mayor’ and personnel from CenterPoint who worked so desperately hard to get us back,” Turner commented.
Teachers also spoke up. Terry Phillips, a veteran educator with 53 years of experience, said issues in the school district have long been ignored. Recalling her advocacy for Black and brown children in California, where she previously worked, Phillips predicted a similar pattern for Humble ISD.
“The tsunami has been coming as far as the Humble ISD is concerned,” she said. “I saw it when I came here. Nobody cared to recognize it. And now it’s cresting.”
