A three-sentence letter to the NAACP says the board of a Stone Mountain school has "moved to dismiss" Nancy Gordeuk as principal less than a week after video of her racially charged comment at a graduation ceremony went viral.
But Gordeuk is the founder and owner of TNT Academy, a private, for-profit business, so the full repercussions for her are unclear.
The letter, without letterhead, is signed “Dr. Heidi Anderson, Chair of the Board of Directors, TNT Academy.”
Anderson’s LinkedIn page identifies her as a chiropractor and director of BEAR Academy, a similar nontraditional education center in Fairburn. She describes herself as an “Extraordinary healer, master teacher and visionary.”
The TNT website does not list Anderson or other board members. Incorporation documents from the Georgia Secretary of State’s office do not list board members, but do list Gordeuk and her husband Nicholas as agents.
Phone calls and emails to Gordeuk and Anderson were not returned.
In an email sent to the Georgia NAACP, Anderson wrote that the board acted "in light of recent events," an apparent reference to Gordeuk's rant during her academy's recent graduation. She harangued the audience, who had begun leaving before the valedictorian's address. In her now video-viral tirade, Gordeuk said: "You people are being so rude to not listen to this speech. It was my fault that we missed it in the program. Look who's leaving — all the black people."
She later apologized, saying “the devil was in the house and came out from my mouth.”
The state NAACP shared Anderson’s letter with The AJC. It reads in part, “During the coming transition, we will continue to prioritize support for our most recent graduates. Moreover, we will continue our commitment to providing students with the best educational classes, transcription services and academic credit recovery possible.”
In a statement released Thursday, the NAACP applauded the TNT board action.
“Beyond the inappropriate remarks, the former principal attempted to legitimize the bizarre episode by claiming ‘the devil made her do it,’ ” said Francys Johnson, state NAACP president.
“The Flip Wilson defense may have worked for a comedian, but not a chief educational official charged with the overall day-to-day management of academic and school operations.”
Wilson popularized the excuse “the devil made me do it,” in a 1970s comedy routine.
Gordeuk said she made her comments after becoming frustrated with a man she felt was a distraction and disrespectful during the ceremony by videotaping the audience from the front of the auditorium.
On one video of the incident, Gordeuk refers to him as a “goober” and “coward,” and threatens to have him arrested.
Her email continues: “When disregarding the request to please sit down, the security was asked to remove the man. At that point, booing of the request commenced.
“Frustrated with the prospect of ruining the once-in-a-lifetime ceremony the graduates have worked so hard for, my emotions got the best of me and that is when I blurted out ‘you people are being so rude to not listen to this speech (valedictorian).’ It was my fault that we missed the speech in the program. I look to the left where the man was and all I saw was a mass of people leaving and I said, ‘Look who’s leaving, all the black people.’ At that point, members of the audience began to leave.”
TNT Academy offers classes and independent study for seventh- through 12th-graders and provides credit recovery for public school students who have failed a class at their regular school. The center is accredited through the Georgia Accrediting Commission, an independent agency governed by a board of elected educators.
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