Staff, parents, students and community members alike gathered together to stand in solidarity with principal Tim Hamblin on Monday evening at a Derby board of education meeting.

Many in attendance — both in the board meeting room and the overflow room, where about 85 people watched on TV screens — wore green #teamhamblin T-shirts.

The support for Hamblin rang loud with multiple interruptions for applauses and amens as the public spoke about their appreciation of Hamblin and his decision to stand up for all students.

In January, Hamblin was asked to apologize for showing a video to staff during an in-service that talked about white privilege. He showed the video after a racist Instagram post on @dhsblackpeople had a post of two girls basketball players.

Board member Andy Watkins talked about why he had been concerned about the video.

“After viewing the video, I had expressed concern to Mrs. Bohaty regarding the terminology referenced in the video,” he said in a statement. “My concern as a board member stemmed from the following general reasons: No. 1, the terminology that was used has a direct tie to critical race theory… I felt like our community as a whole would not agree with the video and the terminology used in schools, and specifically in the situation where staff were viewing the training video, and making this terminology perhaps a norm.”

Watkins went on to discuss that critical race theory is not a part of Kansas’ academic standards. 

“I represented this community for 17 years and I can guarantee you as shown by the sea of green, most of the community would not have a problem with that video,” Derby citizen Cheryl Bannon said. 

Along with Bannon, multiple patrons voiced their opinions, regarding the video and the treatment of Hamblin, which opened the can of worms to a larger topic. 

Racism. 

“If you are offended by the word white privilege, you should be offended by derogatory statements and comments that are made to kids of color, staff of color and the people in the community that don’t fit into the… majority bubble and you should stand up for those kids,” parent Sharilyn Ray told KAKE news. 

Before Ray ended her speech at the meeting, she left her audience with a thought-provoking, rhetorical statement. 

“White privilege is a dirty word but N*gger isn’t,” Ray said. 

Members of DHS Dems went to the meeting and spoke out about their side. 

“I would like to hope that these board of education members would have been more concerned about the acts of racism occuring at Derby High School that this video was intended to rectify than the video itself,” senior Gillian Noeffert read from a letter from senior Vy Nguyen. 

Teacher Kyndal Smith was aggravated at the actions of board members regarding the decision to ask Hamblin to apologize. 

“(Hamblin is) very diplomatic and always out for what’s best for kids and always out for what’s best for his teachers, so this just makes me angry that we can’t show an anti-racial video to support all of our children without having ramifications,” Smith said. 

Karen Runyon, a para at the high school, spoke at the meeting and voiced her stance with Hamblin.

“As a current USD 260 employee, a Derby resident, a parent of six DHS graduates, and a member of the minority group, I stand proudly with Mr. Hamblin and his effort to address… issues of racism at the high school,” Runyon said. 

“We live in a dangerous time when the sensibilities of the oppressors, and their apologists are given more consideration than the experiences of true victims. Kudos to Mr. Hamblin for attempting to deal with the complex and difficult issue in a productive way and shame on those who requested an apology for his efforts. As the brilliant founding father Benjamin franklin noted, ‘Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.’”

Ray noted her experience as a parent, having kids that attended the Derby school district and the things that they went through. 

“I think that the blind eye if you are not a part of that, if you aren’t experiencing it, then it’s easy to say that it doesn’t exist. I’m tired of my kids and kids that look like my kids suffering and being put out in a place that’s supposed to make them feel safe and educated and not having that support from administration,” Ray said. 

Superintendent Heather Bohaty said she did not believe an apology should have been issued for showing the video. She also said it was a step in the right direction in handling a situation that adversely affected many people at the high school. 

“We have to do better. We must have an environment where conversations can occur and every student feels safe in our schools. All discrimination is unacceptable including racism. We need to have open, honest, conversations to move forward. This is what we need to keep at the forefront,” Bohaty said. 

Hamblin’s son, Conley, a senior said later: “I felt proud that so many people were there sticking up for the right cause, I felt a sense of support for my dad and my family and I felt extreme gratitude for everyone on his side.”