Teacher Spews Views On Race, Now Looking For Job

Cayce, SC -- Inside the walls of Brookland-Cayce High School, you expect students to be treated equally. But a viewer tip led News19 online where a teacher's comments left us asking questions."These sorts of things are going to upset people, but the truth can be very upsetting," said Brookland-Cayce High School teacher Winston McCuen.That truth, at least according to McCuen, is that black people are inferior to whites."Intellectually, yes they are," said McCuen. "This has been confirmed over and over, and this is a generalization. Again, there are some blacks who are more intelligent than individual whites. But as a rule, that is true. IQ tests prove it over, and over and over."News19's J.R. Berry asked McCuen, "Do you think slavery in America was a good thing? "Yes," said McCuen. "In America there was a rational assessment saying listen, if we give these people freedom right as they are and you have to go back to see how they were, you can't assume they were like us. J.R. asked, "How were they?" "They were coming out of the jungles," said McCuen. "They had been enslaving each other for centuries in Africa, and in terms of being used to rule of law, they knew none of that."No doubt about it, Winston McCuen has controversial opinions. But do his views make it into the classroom? He teaches Latin at Brookland-Cayce. He told J.R. that most of his students are white.J.R. asked," Is this something that enters your classroom, something you tell your students?" "I'm a Latin teacher, so I'm not teaching politics or history," said McCuen. "I'm just teaching Latin.""We got off subject one day and he mentioned that slavery happened and he mentioned the Vice-President around Andrew Jackson's time, and that's how we got off on slavery," said ninth-grader Candace Carol. The Vice-President she was referring to is John C. Calhoun; someone Winston McCuen admires."John C. Calhoun: the greatest South Carolinian in terms of political understanding and wisdom," said McCuen. "And he argued that the institution of slavery was a positive good, and he called it a great good and it was good."Before talking with us, McCuen posted his views on an internet Web site called "American Renaissance." Most of the comments on the site are aimed at blacks. McCuen's comments are no exception. For instance, last August, McCuen said, "There is no apology to be made for black slavery in America. Why should today's whites apologize for the wisdom of their ancestors?"J.R. commented to McCuen, "There will be some people that will say those are racist remarks." "They can call them what they will," said McCuen. "But if they call it racist, I just say it's true and you've got to deal with that. I have a responsibility to speak the truth; I believe it is."J.R. asked, "So if you have black students in your class, do you look down on them?" "No, "said McCuen. "I try to do the best I can with every student I've got."J.R. asked, "But you just said they were inferior?" "You try to actualize whatever potential is there," said McCuen.This isn't the first time Winston McCuen has been in the news. In 1999, he was a history teacher at St. Joseph's, a private high school in Greenville. McCuen hung a Confederate flag in his classroom. When parents complained, he was told by school officials to take it down. He didn't, and he was fired."Our board of trustees ran screaming into the night saying 'take it down, take it down,' and I refused to because you need to present different views in the classroom," said McCuen.That was seven years ago. Today, the Emory University graduate is on administrative leave after News19 informed Lexington District Two about his comments. He won't be back next year. But he wasn't coming back anyway because of a certification issue. Though the district declined an on-camera interview, they did issue the following statement:"District officials have not seen the video done by WLTX, but we are now aware of certain web sites. The District cannot dictate the personal political views of its employees. The positions of Dr. McCuen are not the positions of Lexington School District Two.The parents of our district have entrusted us with the education of their children, and wecontinually strive to foster a positive learning environment for all of our students. The District is investigating the matter and will take appropriate action if warranted. Dr. McCuen is currently on administrative leave. For unrelated reasons, he will not be teaching in Lexington School District Two next year."While McCuen's days with Lexington Two are numbered, McCuen says his time in the classroom is far from over."Is that a problem?" said McCuen. "I hope not. "Am I not supposed to make a living because of my views? Or should I just be wiped out or what, and people like me, what do you think?"