‘I do take accountability for that’ | Prince George’s County School teacher opens up after viral video

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. — A Maryland teacher has been under investigation for more than a month since he posted a viral video that has been shared over 8 million times. The Prince George’s County School District has decided to keep a teacher after his video sparked controversy across social media.

“I think the five-day suspension was appropriate," said teacher Marquise White.

It’s the first time hearing from Marquise White since he went viral for a video showing students unbraiding his hair in his classroom back in May.

“At the end of the day, I did break a policy and I do take accountability for that,” White said.

The science teacher says Prince George’s County Schools suspended him for five days, then cleared him to return. The school district confirms to WUSA9 that he remains an employee. The district would not confirm the suspension and said it cannot comment on confidential personnel matters but did say in a statement: 

"The investigation is complete and the teacher remains a PGCPS employee." 

We first learned about this investigation in May, shortly after the video was shared millions of times. White said it was the last 10 minutes of a class period. He said students had the option of being at a school-wide event or in their classrooms.

“I asked them, I said I have an appointment immediately after school and I need help taking my hair out because as soon as I leave here, I’m going straight to get my hair braided. I was like ‘So can y'all help me out’, ‘Yeah Mr. White we got you,’ White said.

“As a teacher in that moment did you feel like what they were doing and what you were doing was okay?” WUSA9 reporter Alexis Wainwright asked.

“I personally feel like it was okay then,” White said. “Especially in this community that’s our Black culture, hair is really important in Black culture, so I try to have a culturally relevant classroom.”

He said this type of behavior had never happened in his classroom before.

WUSA9 asked White what he would say to the parents who expressed concerns.

“To the parents that are concerned, I would say I understand the concern,” White said. “I understand the hypervigilance, especially in today’s world with certain things that have come out about not only teachers, but police officers, people in the church zone, and so forth. There’s a lot of things coming up about people taking advantage of minors, so I understand hypervigilance, but we can’t perpetuate the idea that you know all men are monsters and have a motive.”

White said if he could go back in time there were a few things he would change in this situation. He also said the parents of the students in the video have been supporting him this whole time. It’s unclear when exactly he will return to work, but we will update as we learn more.

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