Music-Education Exec Fired Over Racial Comments

The National Association for Music Education has parted ways with its executive director and CEO after he reportedly told a teachers forum on diversity that blacks and Latinos lack the “keyboard skills” necessary for the profession. Michael Butera allegedly stormed out of the Washington conference last month after defending his organization’s lack of diversity by saying “blacks and Latinos lack the keyboard skills needed for this field.” The exec claimed his remarks were misrepresented, writing on Facebook that he meant to highlight how “the field of music educators, much like the general population of educators, is skewed toward white individuals.” Butera’s critics who attended the conference, however, said he “said what he meant, and meant what he said.”