Nathel Burtley, the first black superintendent of Flint Community Schools, died last week of coronavirus, according to multiple outlets. He was 79.
Burtley, who would have turned 80 on Easter Sunday, fell ill in early March, and on March 20 was hospitalized at Hurley Medical Center, where he remained until his death on April 6, son Chris Burtley told BuzzFeed News.
Burtley began his career in education administration as an elementary school principal in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and spent five years with the Ypsilanti Public School system before heading to Flint in 1981, MLive reported.
After spending seven years as deputy superintendent of Flint Community Schools, he became district leader, and retired in 1994, according to MLive.
Upon his retirement, he reportedly headed to Michigan State University as assistant athletic director, and later became the principal of Northridge Academy in Flint.
Chris told the outlet that his father grew up poor going to segregated schools, and later felt a bond with children in the inner-city schools he worked for because he saw himself reflected in them.
“He knew the type of environment that those kids came from. He understood what it was like growing up without a dad,” he said. “He understood what it was like growing up with a parent who couldn’t help you with your homework. He understood what it was like to be hungry going to school. He knew those circumstances because he grew up in it.”
Burtley overcame a stutter growing up, and later pursued a degree in speech pathology, according to MLive.
Burtley reportedly told The Flint Journal in 2008 that when he assumed the role of Flint’s first black superintendent, “things were jumping from a civil rights standpoint.”
“It was very charged,” he said. “There was quite a bit of tension during those days, but the whole country was going through change… and the schools were reflective of what was going on in society.”
Outside of his professional career, Chris told BuzzFeed News that his father’s favorite role was that of parent.
“He grew up without a dad,” he said. “He took being a dad very seriously because he knew what it’s like to not have one. It was the most important job he had.”
Chris also said that his father suffered from Alzheimer’s, and that the best way to honor him would be to continue practicing social distancing.
“Stay home. That’s what you can do for us,” he said. “I get that people need other people… We are meant to interact with other people, and we’re asking an entire country to not do those things. It’s very hard, but at the end of the day … there’s just no other way. Really just stay home.”
Source: BBC
