With her daughters Taylor and Tina and husband Jason by her side, Dr. Gyimah Whitaker is sworn in as the new superintendent of the City Schools of Decatur by Decatur Chief Municipal Judge Rhathelia Stroud in the Elizabeth Wilson Student Support Center board room on Tuesday, June 13, 2023.
DEAN HESSE/APPEN MEDIA
(Atlanta, GA 5/23/2026): The Georgia chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-GA), Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights, Atlanta Multifaith Coalition for Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace Atlanta, STAND, North Decatur United Methodist Church, and others today demanded that City Schools of Decatur Superintendent, Dr. Gyimah Whitaker, denounce her husband’s extremist podcast and rhetoric, which targets Muslims, women, and LGBTQ individuals.
See: Decatur Schools superintendent under fire over podcasts
In a podcast aired in December 2025, Dr. Whitaker’s husband referred to Muslims as “goat herders,” and “low-IQ people.” In another podcast, he stated that “there is no such thing as trans men, trans women, other binary groups or cis men, cis women.” Dr. Whitaker has used her husband’s podcast studio to record multiple episodes of her Words With Dr. Whitaker podcast, which she runs in her official capacity as the superintendent.
In light of these revelations, the faith, community, and civil rights organizations also questioned Dr. Whitaker’s leadership, and are calling on the school board to investigate Dr. Whitaker for bias against marginalized groups and for possibly enriching her husband with taxpayer money.
Since assuming office in 2023, Dr. Whitaker and the City Schools of Decatur have taken a host of troubling anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian, anti-trans, and anti-Black steps: failing to renew the contract of a Black faculty member because of his support for his Muslim and pro-Palestine students; refusing to let Muslim students hold a peaceful protest in support of Palestinians undergoing a genocide; pushing plans to build an early childhood learning center on land that is considered sacred ground to displaced Beacon Hill elders who were forcibly removed by urban removal policies decades ago; and attempting to rescind the Board’s equity policies.
In a statement, Azka Mahmood, Executive Director of CAIR-Georgia said
“In today’s political and social environment where Muslim communities are fatally attacked due to the abhorrent anti-Muslim rhetoric of extremist influencers and politicians, it is disgraceful that the husband of a sitting school superintendent of one of the most diverse school districts in the state is spouting the same dangerous rhetoric. We demand that Dr. Whitaker denounce her husband’s racist and extremist podcast, cut ties with his studio, and explicitly distance herself from his ideas to assure that Decatur students and families of all backgrounds can feel safer.”
Fonta High, co-chair of the Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights and co-chair of the Decolonize Decatur Committee shared in a statement:
“The Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights is a Black-led organization working in the city of Decatur for many years to address the symbols of white supremacy and systemic oppression present in our community. We stand in solidarity with all members of our community who feel targeted by the hateful messaging promoted on these podcasts. In our intersectional, decolonization work in the city, we will continue to center those most affected by all the systems of oppression that exist locally and in the society as a whole as we seek to create another world.“
A statement from whenwestand.org stated: “We STAND with all of our children in the community that we call home. Hate, even couched in faux-religiosity, has no place in Decatur.”
Rev. Mark Navarre-Jones, LCSW stated:
“As a mental health professional in working in the City of Decatur I find such comments reprehensible. I hope the superintendent denounces her husband’s views unequivocally and works to repair harm done to minority students under her stewardship.”
Signatories:
Atlanta Multifaith Coalition for Palestine
Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights
Beacon Hill GrassRoots Coalition
Bentley Hudgins, Democratic Nominee for Georgia State House District 90
Imam SH Wazir, AIC Inc.
Jewish Voice for Peace Atlanta
Matthew Woodruff, STAND (whenwestand.org)
Nanci Hicks, North Decatur United Methodist Church
Pastor Melanie Vaughn-Colwell, Oakhurst Baptist Church, Social Justice and Anti-Racism Team
Paul McLennan, Beacon Hill GrassRoots Coalition
Rev. Dr. Fahed AbuAkel, Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace
Rev. Dr. Tiffanie Lanelle Mackey
Rev. Mark Navarre-Jones, LCSW
Tracey Nance, CSD Parent & 2020-2021 Georgia Teacher of the Year
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CONTACT: Azka Mahmood, CAIR-Georgia Executive Director, [email protected], Javeria Jamil, CAIR-Georgia Deputy Director, [email protected].