Newton North High School principal serves as racial equity consultant for other schools; received $10,000 from Marblehead Public Schools for training staff and students

Henry Turner serves as the principal of Newton North High School in Massachusetts. Parents Defending Education previously reported how he has a business outside of being a principal that focuses on consulting and training schools in the ideas of racial equity and white privilege. In 2021, Plymouth Public Schools paid him $7,000 to train students and staff with the objective to “describe whiteness and the role the culture plays to uphold systemic racism.” PDE has now received new invoices between Henry Turner and Marblehead Public Schools.

PDE received four invoices totaling $10,000 that Marblehead Public Schools paid to Henry Turner in 2021 through 2022 for workshops speaking to both staff and students. One workshop specifically targeted English teachers. Each invoice has a third of the pay taken off the bill for “hometown discount.” The following invoices show what the school district paid Henry Turner:

• $3,000 for “1 Day Workshop: Discussing Race and Racism”
  • Description: “Guide a deep-dive discussion of race, racism, and the long-term implications on curriculum and instruction with Marblehead English teachers to help prepare them to select and integrate two additional texts about the lives of people of color.”
• $2,000 for “2 hour workshop”
  • Description: “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Workshop 1.0”
• $4,000 for “4 hour workshop for students”
  • Description: “Racism, Cultural Appropriation and N-Word on 11/17”
• $1,000 for “1 hour workshop for Families”
  • Description: “Provide a community based workshop on why Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is important for students. To support the work of the DEI committee in Marblehead. Why this work requires taking a risk. Connect the work of Henry’s previous workshops with secondary teachers and high school students.”

Henry Turner has a website where he publishes blogs. One blog is titled “Rethinking Black History Month: Moving Beyond an Add-On to American History.” In this blog, he praises the “1619 Project” and claims that “it is crucial that we go beyond teaching a history of victimhood and instead focus on the resistance, resilience, and culture that thrived within a white supremacist society.”

Henry Turner also wrote a book titled Change the Narrative: How to Foster an Antiracist Culture in Your School. Amazon’s description of the book states: “Through the lens and actions of antiracism, Change the Narrative provides a pathway for school administrators, leaders, and change agents who want to put into action the values of antiracism in their school community every day.”