DAE president apologizes for calling Durham schools superintendent by first name
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- DAE president Mika Twietmeyer apologized after calling the superintendent by his first name.
- Board leaders said the first-name use exposed racial and professional harms.
- Twietmeyer and Lewis have worked 1½ years on a Meet & Confer deal amid tensions.
Durham Association of Educators President Mika Twietmeyer issued a public apology Monday morning for calling the Durham Public Schools superintendent by his first name during a tense meeting last week.
Twietmeyer, a white woman, said calling Superintendent Anthony Lewis, a Black man, by his first name highlighted “harmful racial dynamics,” acknowledging the weight of a white person stripping a Black professional of his hard-earned title in a public forum.
The Feb. 19 “Meet & Confer” meeting between the school board and DAE had run over its scheduled time, and Twietmeyer was ending her remarks about the association’s goals, a video shows.
Lewis cuts Twietmeyer off, saying, “Mika, we’re done; the meeting is over. Thank you.” He stands up from his desk and prepares to leave.
Twietmeyer responds, “Thank you, Anthony.”
Her response drew immediate backlash from school board members, Durham County commissioners, and others who said her use of Lewis’ first name was disrespectful.
The apology
Twietmeyer said she reached out to Lewis on Friday to apologize.
“In our union, we believe in repairing harm when it is caused,” her apology read. The statement was shared on the Durham Association of Educators’ Facebook page. “I am aware of the ways in which this moment upset members of our community, and I apologize to everyone who was hurt by my actions.”
In a statement sent to The News & Observer on Monday, Lewis did not specifically address being called by his first name but said the Meet & Confer process was “established to allow for collaboration among DPS administration and staff.”
“The shared goal is to ensure a high-quality, equitable education for students, while fostering strong staff morale through open dialogue and cooperative problem-solving,” the statement read. “There’s never enough time to fully address these passionate issues, which is why established meeting norms — including meeting length — were developed.”
Lewis became superintendent of Durham Public Schools in 2024, taking over the role after the resignation of Pascal Mubenga. He is from Alabama and earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Missouri.
The two leaders have been working together for the past year-and-a-half on a ”Meet & Confer” agreement to give Durham’s public educators and workers input on decisions made by the school board. The relationship has been tense, however, with disagreements continuing over classified staff pay.
“Meet & Confer brings together passionate people who care deeply about our students and coworkers, on both sides of the table. The conversations are often intense because the stakes are high. That context does not justify harm,” the DAE Meet & Confer team said in a statement.
‘It is unprofessional’
Many critics of Twietmeyer’s remark at last week’s meeting took to social media to express their frustration and hurt.
“Calling the Black superintendent by his first name in a professional setting — is inappropriate. It is unprofessional,” school board vice chair Millicent Rogers, who posted the video, said on Facebook. “In the South, where generations of Black students have gone their entire educational careers without ever seeing a Black man in the classroom, let alone lead an urban school system, this matters deeply.”
Bettina Umstead, the chair of the school board, said, “Black people have fought to be called by our names.”
“I voted for Meet & Confer because I believe collaborating with our educators can improve working conditions therefore improving student outcomes. What we’ve seen has not been about collaboration, it’s about power,” she wrote on a Facebook post.
Floyd McKissick, the chair of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, called for a commitment to a “community of respect” in light of the Meet & Confer meeting.
“Public meetings involving our school system should model professionalism, mutual respect, and a shared commitment to the well-being of our students and educators,” the letter read. “Public discourse and civic engagement must exemplify the highest standards of leadership.”
Several local leaders including Mayor Leo Williams and County Commissioners Stephen Valentine, Michelle Burton and Mike Lee signed the letter in agreement.
‘People are hurt’
Some commentators online have questioned the backlash, saying Twietmeyer simply responded by using Lewis’ first name because he had used hers.
However, the implication of Twietmeyer’s comment is different from Lewis’ and can also show a pattern of a cultural shift within DAE in its relationship with DPS, said Ronda Bullock, a former DPS teacher and the co-founder of we are, a nonprofit working to educate others about racism.
In a phone interview, Bullock said while DAE members have raised critical issues for DPS and are an important group, it is important to view the incident through a historical lens in which Black American leaders have been undermined.
“This is about reconciling harm, not about being anti-union,” she said. “We are in Black History Month. This is about naming, connecting current moments to historical trauma.”
What happened Thursday was not an isolated incident, Bullock said, adding that the DAE has gradually moved away from a “liberatory framework” that honors “humanity and dignity.” The past few superintendents in Durham have been Black men. DAE has had Black leaders before, including Burton and current school board candidate Kristy Moore.
“I believe that from both sides, Durham Public Schools and DAE, there’s tension,” she said. “This relationship is not working, and it’s not healthy.”
Bullock and other educators in the Durham community have written a letter calling for Twietmeyer’s resignation as well as for DAE to engage in cultural reflection and for DPS to reaffirm standards of professionalism.
“People who have children in DPS feel as if their children’s academic success is getting lost in the shuffle. ... Yet, as these squabbles are taking place in public, as the disrespect has been observed in public, children’s lives are at stake in a district where the majority of them are Black and brown,” she said. “People are hurt.”
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This story was originally published February 23, 2026 at 11:55 AM.