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Black parents pushed Portland Catholic school to improve racial equity. The principal called police on the parents and expelled the son

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  • Updated: May. 12, 2025, 2:40 p.m.
  • Published: Apr. 28, 2025, 6:30 a.m.

The principal at The Madeleine School, a private Catholic school in Northeast Portland, summoned Portland police to the campus in late March when the parents of a Black student demanded to know her plan of action after their fourth grade son reported being called a racist slur on the playground.

Just 72 hours later, the school expelled the boy, effective immediately, saying his parents — Moda Health executive Karis Stoudamire-Phillips and renowned jazz musician Mike Phillips, both prominent Black Portlanders with long histories of volunteering both citywide and in Portland’s tight-knit Catholic school community — had violated the school’s code of conduct for parents.

Source: https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2025/04/black-parents-pushed-portland-catholic-school-to-improve-racial-equity-the-principal-called-police-on-the-parents-and-expelled-the-son.html