Emails show CMS was eager to book pricey controversial speaker
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‘$25K total? Totally doable,’ superintendent’s top aide wrote to booking agent for Ibram X. Kendi, according to emails released this week
Ibram X. Kendi, author of “How to be an Antiracist,” spoke at a CMS conference last month for a $25,000 fee. Newly released emails provide details on the negotiations between his representatives and CMS. (Photo by Stephen Voss/Courtesy of Ibram X. Kendi)
by Tony Mecia
Newly released public records show that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials didn’t bat an eye when told of the $25,000 cost to have controversial speaker Ibram X. Kendi as the keynote speaker at an online conference last month.
Emails show that CMS Chief of Staff LaTarzja Henry first emailed Kendi’s representative on Dec. 2, 2020, to request that the author deliver a keynote address that would allow CMS to help “work towards becoming an anti-racist organization.”
After some back-and-forth, Kendi’s booking agent with his publisher, Penguin Random House, told Henry that “Dr. Kendi normally turns down add on offers that don’t start with the full fee of $20,000 plus $5000 for a student Q&A.”
Henry replied: “$25K total? Totally doable.”
The emails show that CMS officials were eager to book Kendi as part of an effort to combat systemic racism that they say is harming student achievement. They were aware he is a controversial writer and speaker. The district had previously distributed Kendi’s book, “How to be an Antiracist,” to CMS leaders and principals, and it had been “met with mixed reactions — all expected,” Henry wrote.
The emails indicate that Henry, who as chief of staff is Superintendent Earnest Winston’s top aide, consulted with Winston before booking Kendi.
The issue of how to teach about race and racism was a hot topic at this week’s school board meeting, with members of the public speaking passionately on both sides of “critical race theory.”
“How to Be an Antiracist” was published in 2019, and sales have surged in the last year, following the killing of George Floyd and the related social justice protests. It hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list for nonfiction.
Republicans in the General Assembly have criticized Kendi’s views on teachings about race, which they say amount to reverse racism and advocating for discrimination. They also circulated quotes of Kendi’s writings that are critical of capitalism.
The emails containing CMS’ contract with Kendi were released publicly this week, in response to several public records requests by media and parents. CMS typically releases public records on a website for all to see.
[Read the Kendi public records on The Ledger’s supplemental website]
The Charlotte Observer reported on Monday that CMS had not handed over the contract with Kendi but later updated the story to say CMS made a copy available to the paper. A story posted Tuesday contained details of the contract, including that CMS agreed to limit distribution of Kendi’s talk. News organizations had sought the video of his remarks, but CMS made it available only to those who requested access and did not provide a link that could be shared with the public. That follows the terms of Kendi’s contract with CMS.
CMS’ public records portal shows that more than 50 people have requested materials related to Kendi’s participation in the CMS conference.
The emails between CMS and Kendi’s representative show that had CMS opted for an in-person event, it would have cost even more: “If you’re asking for an in person presentation plus add on Q&A his fee would be $30,000 plus 1st class travel for one, economy travel for 1, 2 hotel rooms, professional ground in both cities and meals,” the Penguin Random House official wrote.
CMS has an annual budget of $1.8B.
CMS and Kendi nailed down the details in January, following a brief delay in which CMS didn’t hear back. “I may have forgot to mention that Dr. Kendi normally takes 14 business days to respond,” the official wrote.
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Reporting intern: Lindsey Banks