Protesters Show Support for Ex-Inglewood Principal

A small group of supporters of ousted Inglewood High School Principal Lawrence Freeman protested his recent replacement Wednesday outside the school district headquarters.

Carrying signs with slogans, such as “Freeman’s our man--if he can’t do it, no one can,” the protesters said they wanted school board members to know that there is community opposition to their decision to replace Freeman.

“We are disappointed with the way they put Freeman out to pasture,” said Sandra Mack, who has a son at Inglewood High. “Whether they like the man or not, there’s a right and a wrong way to do things.”

The board removed the controversial educator from Inglewood High in May after fighting broke out between black and Latino students. Last week, the board appointed former Hawthorne High Principal Kenneth Crowe to replace him.

Freeman, who has been on sick leave since May 1, was recently reassigned to the district headquarters to work with at-risk youths. He could not be reached for comment.

Board President Lois Hill-Hale called the reassignment a “promotion” because Freeman is going from a school site to the district headquarters. She said the board has asked Supt. George McKenna to report on Wednesday’s protest.

“I don’t think there’s a lot of opposition to Mr. Crowe’s appointment,” she said. “You will always find that Mr. Freeman will have his loyalists.”

Crowe, named Freeman’s replacement last week, had been a controversial figure in the racially charged Centinela Valley Union High School District. He was demoted to a teaching position in June, several months after rumors of his reassignment led to mass walkouts by student supporters.

The two dozen Freeman supporters, who picketed without incident, included former school board member Tony Draper and Morningside Assistant Principal Ed Brownley.

Brownley, who worked under Freeman for five years as a dean, said Freeman was responsible for changing the school from a “gang-banging haven” to “one of the most improved schools in the state.”

Mack said she does not really expect school board members to change their minds with the fall semester just weeks away.

“With protests you don’t usually achieve much of anything,” she said. “We just want (board members) to know that there are people who disagree completely with what they are doing.”