American Airlines is investigating a Texas pilot after it was asked to review his posts and podcast that criticized the Carroll ISD’s proposed “diversity and inclusion initiative” and those who support it.
Sixty-two-year-old Guy Midkiff, a Southlake resident, has been a pilot for the company for 32 years, the Dallas Morning News reported Thursday.
“We are troubled by the allegations made and have launched an investigation into the matter,” an airline representative told the newspaper.
The News article continued:
Through his Twitter and Facebook accounts as well as a podcast called Wise Guy Talks, Midkiff has documented his opposition to the district’s Cultural Competence Action Plan, as well as various groups and community members who support it. He and other Southlake residents, including the Southlake Families PAC, have said the plan is an attempt to introduce so-called critical race theory into the classroom.
The Texas House passed a bill Tuesday that supporters say is an effort to keep the theory, which identifies racism as a systemic problem, from being taught in schools. Educators are worried the legislation would have a chilling effect on classrooms and hamper efforts to encourage students to be effective citizens.
Two groups that support the district’s plan have accused the pilot of harassing individuals online. However, he reportedly responded by saying the groups are using “bully tactics” to protect themselves from challengers.
Both groups recently brought the issue to the company’s attention.
“Your employee has been harassing students and community members relentlessly for months for speaking out against the racism they experience in our town,” the Southlake Anti-Racism Coalition (SARC) wrote in a tweet along with screenshots of the posts in question:
The proposed plan was created in 2020 after a video surfaced of white Carroll ISD students allegedly using a racial slur in 2018, according to the News.
“Those who support the action plan say Midkiff and others have become more vocal because they feel emboldened by the May 1 election results, in which voters overwhelmingly favored candidates opposed to the plan,” the article read.
Voters gave school board and city council candidates who opposed implementing critical race theory (CRT) in public school curriculums 70 percent of the vote, according to Breitbart News.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) recently signed a bill to ban the teaching of CRT in the state’s public schools, the outlet reported May 7.