Photo by Jay Paul
Henrico County Public Schools hired its first diversity and equity director, Monica Manns, after the release of a video last fall in which some white football players at Short Pump Middle School simulated sexual assaults on black players and yelled racial taunts. Shared on Snapchat, the video made national news. A veteran teacher and administrator, Manns stepped into the new role March 26. She will collaborate with an advisory team to address the achievement gap in Henrico schools.
Richmond magazine: Why was your position created?
Manns: I think that there is a belief that it was created primarily in response to the Short Pump Middle School [incident], but having worked in the district prior to that, there was conversation around this issue and ensuring that the county was looking at things through an equitable lens. … I think that it was more of a catalyst than a response.
RM: What has most prepared you for this job?
Manns: Seeing my mother, who was Native American, but looked white, have to traverse this world in a space that she didn’t particularly internally own … and then she had two black kids in the ’80s in a very segregated community in Roanoke. So it was a very unique experience, and she was married to a white man. My dad was married to a Salvadoran [immigrant]. And my brother is in the LGBTQ community; he came out when I was 13. I feel like, oftentimes, that my lived experiences probably better prepared me than my academic experiences.
RM: What are you hearing from the community?
Manns: There are concerns that the facilities aren’t equitable, concerns about disproportionality, [concerns about] special education, concerns about the curriculum and instruction. We need to narrow the focus on two to three areas and really work in those spaces to ensure we’re addressing the issues of equity and diversity, because if not, we could go down a rabbit hole and not get anything accomplished.
RM: How do you see your role?
Manns: This is not just me doing it alone; it really is a group effort of all the stakeholders involved from Henrico County, the staff and the people here, the community members and all of us kind of working together to move this conversation forward.
