It was an ordinary day of training at the Winston-Salem Fire Department in November 2019. Firefighters were beefing up on ropes and knot-tying skills when a symbol of hate interrupted the class.
Michael Chapman, a white fireman, tied a noose and held it up to Darius Johnson, one of his Black counterparts in the department, then asked if Johnson knew what type of knot it was.
Nooses were tied around the necks of thousands of Black men and women who were lynched during the Jim Crow era.
When Johnson reported the racially charged gesture to his higher-ups, it spiraled all the way up the command chain to Fire Chief William Mayo.
New St Peter s College principal Margaret Leamy is an old girl of the school. “It s the [school] values that we grew up with. Now you re teaching you’re actually putting them into play. “Instilling those important values into current students is really important.” She wanted to develop a curriculum for all students and cater for diverse learners. “That s one key priority and the other one is just about continuing to grow our community, faith, culture and life – all the college things brought together in harmony.” She said the school was on the right track and she wanted it to continue to grow.