Ben Carson speaks out after school board votes to remove his name from high school
Dr. Ben Carson weighs in after a Detroit school board voted to remove his name from the public high school on 'Hannity.'
Twitter users are raging over a Detroit school board's decision to rename an area school originally named after Dr. Ben Carson, calling the decision politically motivated and lambasting the board for its priorities.
"What % of students in Detroit public schools are reading at grade level? Perhaps the board needs to get their priorities in order," Christina Pushaw, an aide to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, tweeted Tuesday.
The Benjamin Carson High School of Science and Medicine will soon brandish a new title after board members voted to remove the retired neurosurgeon and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary's name from the institution last month.
The decision, slammed as "outrageous" by some social media users, including Newsweek contributor and radio and podcast host Darvio Morrow, garnered criticism by those who claimed it looked past Carson's success and focused on partisanship.
Former US Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson addresses the Republican National Convention in a pre-recorded speech at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, in Washington, DC, on August 26, 2020. (NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
"This is sickening. Unreal," podcast host and author Jason Whitlock tweeted in response.
"Wokeness is destroying the public schools and our children," Catholic journalist Sachin Jose tweeted.
Others claimed the move was an attempt by the progressive left to undermine the Black conservatives' success and called out the move for pushing back against those who hold different opinions.
Dr. Trudy Seivwright, a Georgia-based obstetrician-gynecologist, said Carson inspired people like her by leading by example in the medical field.
OPINION: WE WORKED FOR DR. BEN CARSON. WE KNOW DR. BEN CARSON. CANCELING HIM IS JUST NOT RIGHT
Former United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson promotes his book during CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) Texas 2022 conference at Hilton Anatole. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
"When I was 12, I read gifted hands. I’m an OBGYN because of him," she tweeted.
"He was my only example because there were no physicians in my family. I’m surprised that the black community would shun him solely because he is a Republican. The ‘be kind crew’ strikes again."
Conservative commentator Quisha King slammed Democrats for allegedly using race as a "manipulation tool" while responding to outrage over revoking the name of a successful African-American neurosurgeon.
"It’s not about race it’s about pledging allegiance to the Democrat cult. This is sad," she tweeted.
Former HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson speaks with Fox News Digital at CPAC in Dallas on August 4, 2022. (Fox News Digital)
Carson, reacting to the board's decision Tuesday on "Hannity," said, "It's very sad that we've reached the point where political ideology trumps the whole purpose of an educational institution.
"And we're seeing this wokeness spreading throughout our community to the destruction of our community. How does it do any good for us to demonize people with whom we disagree and to teach that to our children at a time when the math scores are down, the reading scores are down; academic performance is down?"
Prior to the interview, host Sean Hannity reported that the Detroit School District said in a statement that community members had been "expressing concerns regarding how, under emergency management, the school's name was changed…"
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Chalkbeat Detroit reported last month that the institution's new name will recognize Dr. Ethelene Crockett, the first Black woman to become board certified in obstetrics and gynecology in Michigan.
When reached for comment, Detroit Public Schools Community District sent the following statement to Fox News Digital:
"Community members have been expressing concerns regarding how, under Emergency Management, the school’s name was changed to Ben Carson. Emergency Management was an imposed governance structure that did not represent the voice of Detroiters or their vote. The school’s previous name was founded on the rich history of Dr. Ethelene Crockett. Added to the concern regarding how the name was changed was the fact that many Detroiters felt that Dr. Ben Carson’s political positions and decisions as a policy maker did not reflect Detroiters and therefore a school should not be named after him.
"Through the recommendation of the Superintendent and the urging or several School Board Members, the School Board voted at its regular board meeting in October 2022 to initiate a school name change consideration process. That process concluded with the majority of current students, staff, parents, alumni, and community members favoring a name change for the school."
Fox News' Charles Creitz contributed to this report.