Tukwila superintendent resigns following accusations of racism

BY MyNorthwest.com  on July 11, 2012 @ 8:49 am (Updated: 11:03 am - 7/11/12 )

Following accusations of racism, the Tukwila Superintendent of Schools has resigned.

"If she wasn't a person of color, me personally, I would have gone after her long before now," bus driver Richie Coleman told KING 5.

Ethelda Burke has been on paid administrative leave, during which the office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigated allegations by 10 district employees of racial harassment and discrimination.

Burke resigned on June 30. In a letter, she wrote that the allegations had taken a toll on her family, and she thought it would be "impossible" for her to be effective if she returned to work as the Tukwila Superintendent.

Some of the accusations included telling a bus driver he had to stop being a "big, black bus driver, scaring all of the white drivers," and referring to "professional African American women as slaves."

The district said it has not seen any evidence proving Burke discriminated against any employee.

MyNorthwest.com, Staff report
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Comments (6)


  • Add A Comment

  • deltta wrote...
    Our Public school system
    July 11, 2012 9:34 am
    Sucks
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • tlmbrt wrote...
    Interesting
    July 11, 2012 11:49 am
    how a "person of color" gets a PASS for so long while a white person wouldn't! Racism seems to be tolerated when the offender is a minority. Is this due to fear that any accuser would be themselves branded as a racist? Isn't racism racism, regardless of color? If we were truly a "color blind" society....
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Snout wrote...
    "If she wasn't a person of color, me personally, I would have gone after her long before now," bus driver Richie Coleman
    July 11, 2012 1:01 pm
    Gee, that sounds a lot like racism to me. Racism has many faces and not just the use of offensive terms or negative discrimination.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • NoiseMan wrote...
    Very Interesting....
    July 11, 2012 1:28 pm
    My thought on this is....hmmmm, better not say that, might come off sounding a little racist. Then on the other hand, I've always felt that when people of.....better not say that either, could sound insensitive to some ethnic groups. Well in any case, she clearly was......no, better keep that comment to myself, I wouldn't want anyone to misunderstand. In summary I just want to say....ahhh....come to think of it, there is really nothing that can be said without someone getting pissed off....pretty sad , yeah?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Sean wrote...
    I just love
    July 11, 2012 1:58 pm
    ...how she thinks "it would be impossible for her to be effective if she returned to work as the Tukwila Superintendent" because of the uproar over her behavior -- but the behavior itself apparently is not an issue with her!!! That's hilarious... And by the way, kudos to her for at least resigning when we all know that any public-school system these days could be milked for months, if not YEARS, of "paid administrative leave" while the teachers' union defends her endlessly...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }