14 FEBRUARY 15, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Middle Village school seeks to clear
the air in ‘Malcolm X’ scandal
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
Offi cials from Christ the King
High School in Middle Village
sought to clarify their position
over a senior sweatshirt that has
sparked a national controversy.
The statement, signed by school
Board Chairman Serphin R. Maltese
and released on Feb. 12, focuses mainly
on the order form for the senior sweatshirts,
which states “Last or fi rst name
only – No nicknames,” for those who
choose to personalize them.
One senior, Malcolm Xavier Combs,
requested to have ‘Malcolm X’ printed
on the sleeve of his sweatshirt and
was denied. Combs was off ended by
how one teacher treated his request,
and his parents took the story to the
Daily News and the National Action
Network (NAN).
“Given the diverse nature of this
community, we are especially concerned
about language and deportment
so that no member of our Christ
the King family feels marginalized in
any way,” Maltese stated. “The recent
articles about one of our students and
Malcolm X has, unfortunately, been
taken out of context and has been
misconstrued.”
According to Maltese’s statement,
nicknames on the sweatshirts have
occasionally been approved in the
past only if it is the most common
identity of the student. In Combs’
case, however, the school states that
all of his offi cial records – original
application, student portfolio, registration
and Combs’ diploma from his
eighth-grade school – include only
his fi rst and last name without his
middle name or initial. Therefore,
the school did not recognize ‘Malcolm
X’ as Combs’ preferred name.
On the other hand, Combs charged
that the administrator who told him
his request was denied mocked him
by calling him “the new Malcolm X,”
and the student didn’t feel like he
was in the wrong because “that’s my
name, Malcolm X., not a nickname,”
according to the Daily News.
When the school met with Combs,
his family and an offi cial from NAN
the day of the article’s publication, a
compromise was off ered to put the
student’s fi rst and middle name on
the sweatshirt. Combs denied that
compromise, the statement said.
The National Action Network took
things a step further when Reverend
Al Sharpton invited Combs and his
family to the organization’s weekly
rally on Feb. 10, to which he also invited
Malcolm X’s daughter, Ilyasah
Shabazz. At the rally, Sharpton made
it clear the organization will continue
to push for change at Christ the King.
“I wanted this young man and his
family to know that we are with
them,” Sharpton said at the rally.
“(NAN) has gone out there and spoken
with the heads of the school. It seems
that they have a hearing defi ciency.
Maybe a lot of us need to go out there
and turn the volume up.”
The Combs family and NAN
called for cultural inclusion training
and for the school to hire more
diverse staff members. Maltese did
not address that in the statement,
but explained that the historical
fi gure Malcolm X has been part of
the school’s curriculum for many
years in the study of the civil rights
movement, and the school’s library
has books on Malcolm X and “other
fi gures from the African-American
experience.”
Maltese concluded that the school
hopes the situation can be resolved “on
mutually acceptable terms.”
“While we believe that there was a
misinterpretation between the parties,
we regret the turn of events and the
problems that have ensued,” the statement
said.
File photo/QNS
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