Country musician John Rich has been railing against Lipscomb Academy’s dean of Intercultural Development, according to parents familiar with the situation. The singer, who’s one-half of the duo Big & Rich, criticized Dean Brittany Paschall and her past writings and speeches, and called for the removal of her supervisor, Lisa Bruce, due to his disagreement with school materials that discuss racism and white privilege.
In messages obtained by the Scene dating back to late December, Rich, who has two children at the private Christian prep school, says he and his wife decided to cancel their third annual songwriter fundraiser for the school because “we cannot in good conscience continue to raise money for a school who has so drastically disappointed us.” The Scene received several copies of the email from Lipscomb parents, which originated on a distribution list for supporters of the school’s athletics program but soon circulated among other parents.
The Redneck Riviera owner centers much of his complaint on the use of an essay about white privilege in a middle school classroom at Lipscomb. Carol Swain — who received Rich's support in her failed 2019 bid for mayor — later picked up the story and wrote about it in conservative outlet The Tennessee Star. However, sources tell the Scene it wasn’t Paschall — a black woman — who taught the essay, and in a radio interview about Lipscomb, Swain herself says it was a white teacher who introduced it to students.
Rich attached a photo of the first page of the essay to the email. The blog post, titled “Whose Story Is It?," was written by author Laurie Halse Anderson. Anderson is white, and the post is about the ethics of writers telling stories from the perspective of people from other races and backgrounds — something she has done in books. Rich mostly writes about the introductory paragraphs, which ask if the reader understands white privilege and says, “White people have had a whole lot of blood on their hands for the last four hundred years” — a reference to the brutality of slavery, lynchings and the legacy of racism in the U.S.
Rich believed the essay could harm white children and called it racist. He also said “racism does not exist at this school [Lipscomb Academy] based on my experience there.”Â
Lipscomb Academy is a mostly white school — according to its website, the minority population is 19 percent, much smaller than the minority population of the Metro Nashville Public Schools system.
Rich also linked to an article Paschall wrote for Sojourners Magazine about violence against black women, as well as a blog post from her personal website about experiencing racism in the Church of Christ. One parent tells the Scene that Rich wants to frame Paschall as a “radical liberal.”
In addition to being a writer, Paschall is a minister, an organizer and a youth worker. She was active in Black Lives Matter Nashville and the movement to free Cyntoia Brown from prison. (Brown was granted clemency in 2019.)
Paschall was named the first intercultural dean in June 2019. “Diversity is integral to every part of Christian mission," Paschall stated in a press release about her hiring. "I’m excited to partner with the Lipscomb Academy family to move toward a community that is more reflective of the kingdom of God."
Another email from someone using the name “David Lipscomb” called on parents, staff and faculty to contact the board of trustees. The message read, "We all love Lipscomb and want to see our school return to its roots," and asserted that the school’s founder, David Lipscomb, would want the school to be a “completely Bible-based institution.” It seems to be a common talking point — Rich made a similar comment in his email. “Whether it be race, climate, or any other sensitive issue, the Bible addresses ALL of those things,” wrote the “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” singer.
Additionally, an anonymous Twitter account called “MakeLipscombGreat1891” (handle @great1891) has been tweeting complaints about Paschall. It's decidedly conservative, taking aim at “social justice warriors” and an LGBT coming-out day. The account’s first tweet was sent on Dec. 21.
After Rich's email circulated, Lipscomb Academy’s Head of School Greg GIenn sent a community-wide email to parents, which was also obtained by the Scene. In the email, Glenn stressed that the school does not have a social-political agenda, but added that teachers still need to engage with sensitive subjects and “hot topics” of the day. He also said parents will be informed in advance of the topics. Lipscomb also held a series of 11 parent town-hall meetings, which began Jan. 9 and ended Jan. 23. The email doesn't mention Paschall at all, nor does it clarify whether she would have an impact on the curriculum.
The mother of a biracial student at the school calls the town hall she attended “disturbing” and says Paschall was being used as a scapegoat for any problem at the school — real or perceived.
The mother of a black student at Lipscomb tells the Scene she attended the first town hall and the last one, and noticed a marked shift in tone. While the first town hall had many supportive parents who wanted to continue the diversity initiatives, the last one “got quite ugly at times.”
She also challenges Rich’s claims that Paschall wasn’t properly vetted, saying Paschall had met and interviewed with a few parents and faculty before receiving her job at Lipscomb. She is familiar with Paschall's work both outside and inside the school. (Both of these parents have been granted anonymity due to concerns that their children could face backlash.)
Two of the parents who spoke to the Scene say their children worked with Paschall and had only good things to report. One of them, the parent of a white student, is worried about Rich using his money and celebrity to manipulate the situation.
The Scene also learned that a group made up of parents of students of color sent a statement to Lipscomb Academy’s administration. The group supports the efforts to increase diversity and inclusion at the school and wants the academy to keep the Dean of Intercultural Development position. They also request that Lipscomb adopt policies and procedures to clearly combat racism, that there be mandatory cultural competency training for faculty, administration and staff, and that more honest discussion about racial issues take place at the school.
A source familiar with the school's administration says Rich was just one voice in the process, and that parents shouldn't worry that the school will end the Dean of Intercultural Development position.
The Scene also received a video of Lipscomb football coach and former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer telling his athletes that he’d be available to talk with them about any concerns or rumors they’ve heard. In the video he says, “Cultural understanding and growth comes from the willingness to go do life with people that didn’t grow up with people just like you,” seemingly fighting back tears as he speaks.
Paschall directed a request for comment to her lawyer, Phillis Rambsy — however, Rambsy was unable to respond immediately.
A spokesperson for Lipscomb Academy tells the Scene that Paschall is still an employee of the school. The spokesperson also said both Lipscomb Academy and Lipscomb University are committed to promoting a more welcoming and inclusive environment. The spokesperson added that the discussion surrounding Paschall and the topic of diversity is "a very small part of what's going on at the school," and that many more topics are being discussed with parents as the school seeks to improve itself in all areas. They added that there would be some sort of resolution this week, but declined to offer more details.
The Scene reached out to Rich for a comment and received the following statement:
I have publicly stated that I strongly support anyones right to think what they want to, be who they want to be, and stand for what they want to stand for. That includes Ms. Paschall. At a town hall meeting I made this exact statement. I have never called for her to be fired, in fact, the opposite. There are many teachers who have been hired at this school without being properly and sufficiently vetted as to whether or not they align with the doctrine on which the school was founded. The leadership at the school who hired these particular teachers are the one's I, and the parent body are holding accountable.
Rich is slated to
host a new showon Fox News’ digital platform — the program was announced in December, a few weeks before Rich canceled the songwriting fundraiser.
Update Jan. 28: After this story was published, John Rich's publicist sent the Scene an audio recording they say was taken at the Jan. 13 town hall. In the 50-second snippet, Rich can be heard saying: "You can't be hating on Brittany Paschall. Because Brittany Paschall has a constitutional right to think what she wants to think, be who she wants to be and support what she wants to support, just like all of us do." He proceeds to name a couple other teachers he'd like to talk about and who he describes as "people who did put [anti-racism criteria] on the desk and are not African American."
