Weequahic High School’s Athletic Director Faheem Ellis Abused His Power by Demanding Terrance L. Bankston be Removed as Half-Time Show Commentator of The Thanksgiving Soul Bowl & Custodian Called Police on Marching Band Students
Newark, NJ: Weequahic High School’s Athletic Director, Faheem Ellis, abused his power by summarily demanding Terrance L. Bankston, be removed as the half-time show commentator for The Thanksgiving Soul Bowl, between the Weequahic Indians and the Malcolm X Shabazz Bulldogs and the custodian called the police on the marching band students at their final rehearsal, falsely accusing them of trespassing, so that he can go home.
Assistant band director, Jamal Littles, was devastated when he learned late Tuesday night, November 23, 2021, that Darryl Taylor, the band director, received a phone call from Mr. Ellis, demanding they rescind Mr. Bankston’s invitation to commentate the event. Making the accusation that it would be a conflict of interest because he’d “use” the platform to “promote” his campaign for South Ward Councilman and because they failed to get pre-approval by the Newark Board of Education, prior to selecting a commentator.
“That’s not true at all,” explains Mr. Littles. “Mr. Ellis is lying! For one, in my over 20 years as assistant band director, we have never been questioned about who we’ve selected to commentate our halftime show. Secondly, the political conflict of interest theory is totally far-fetched and absurd, because we vetted Mr. Bankston. We asked him to accept the role, because he’s an outstanding guy! He’s an experienced MC. HE KNOWS HOW TO WORK A CROWD! That’s what we were looking for. The kids were very excited that he was onboard, because he’s a familiar face they’re used to seeing, so I found it very disrespectful and concerning when Mr. Faheem gave us the directive to cancel Terrance as commentator. That is a despicable misuse of his power, which unfortunately silenced our students.”
After the COVID shut down ended and Newark schools returned to in person learning, when the band directors came into the building to do inventory, they were mortified to discover approximately $30,000 dollars’ worth of brand new uniforms, instruments and equipment, thrown in garbage cans and permanently damaged; making them unusable.
“Over the years, we have fundraised and gotten financial support and resources from people like Terrance Bankston and the Newark fire department, to be able to afford to purchase this expensive equipment and seeing it all destroyed was a slap in the face,” shared Mr. Littles. “Clearly Weequahic High School doesn’t care about the marching band. They praise us when we win national championships around the country. They care when it makes them look good. They wanna take the credit when the band does well and puts the school’s name in the paper and the spotlight, but don’t wanna give us the proper funding to keep the band afloat. Often times, we’ve had to take money out of our own pockets to clean uniforms. It was our breaking point!”
“This type of deplorable behavior, poor leadership and never ending disrespect, lodged against the Weequahic High School Marching Band by Mr. Ellis, coupled with the lack of interest from the Newark Board of Education in funding music programs, is precisely why we started the non-profit program, ‘The Essex & Union County Marching Band,’ declared Mr. Littles. “So when we came to Terrance a year ago, looking to find rehearsal space for our marching band, as always, with no hesitation, he advocated for us to get a permanent rehearsal space at Bloomfield College, where he served as Director of The Center For Student Leadership and Engagement & Social Programs at the time.”
The marching band is now the first ever official Bloomfield College Band and performs at graduations and campus events. However, whenever they’re asked to came back and perform at Weequahic High School games, such as The Thanksgiving Soul Bowl, Jamal shared, “at the end of the day, orange and brown is in our blood, so we always say yes.”
Terrance L. Bankston aka “S.K.,” is also known as a veteran underground hip-hop artist, who founded the Hip Hop Press Conference in Jersey, to serve as a public advocate and actively engage in effectively bridging the gap between government and the hip-hop culture.It was during that time when he adopted the Weequahic High School Marching Band, oftentimes inviting them to perform with him at his concerts. For over a decade, Mr. Bankston has been committed to supporting the marching band to ensure they have the essentials needed for success.
“Terrance is a dope MC who has been supportive of the marching band for many years and has consistently provided opportunities for our students,” proclaims Jamal. “We have practice videos with him on YouTube that go back as far as 2011. This is a longstanding relationship. Loyalty and safety is very key to us, because we don’t trust everybody around our kids; that’s something we don’t have to worry about with Terrance. He cares about the kids and that’s how he’s always been. To imply that we are a part of any sort of political war is not only an insult, it’s simply NOT TRUE! It really is all about the kids!
“Sadly, Mr. Ellis’ last minute demand to remove Mr. Bankston as the commentator, was cruel! This sudden change creates a huge hardship for the marching band, because it’s very crucial to have a commentator who knows the flow of the show, and by that time, Mr. Bankston had already attended rehearsals and gone through the run of show. Mr. Ellis has put us in the tough position of finding a replacement who is an experienced, consummate professional, with the same kind of energy as Terrance, within less than 24 hours before show time; setting us up to fail, not succeed!”
Ashley Torres, a senior and the Weequahic High School Marching Band captain, was stunned and saddened when she discovered the Athletic Director Faheem Ellis, ordered band director Darryl Taylor and assistant band director, Jamal Littles, to replace Terrance Bankston as the Thanksgiving Soul Bowl commentator. “Basically, I feel as though he agreed to commentate out of the goodness of his heart, not because he’s running for office,” implored Ashley.
“It was about him having fun with us and he was even gonna perform with us as part of our halftime show. We respect him very much. Mr. Bankston helped advocate for us to get a rehearsal space at Bloomfield College, which is what put us in the position to be able to practice and get ready to perform at today’s event. Terrance is our number one supporter. He’s a good guy! Whenever we need him he’s there! He has a heart! He gives food to needy families. He has sympathy for others. He loves to help out, period!
“I feel that the Athletic Director doesn’t want to see us succeed. It really is not about the election. His opinion is ignorant!! His opinion is not valid! Having to find a last-minute commentator is disappointing. Plus, the students all wanted Terrance, because he has swag…now we had to search for somebody else. When we told the other students he would not be our commentator, they were soooo upset, because Mr. Bankston was at practices with us; putting in his work! This is yet another reason why we’re not really the Weequahic High School’s marching band anymore, we left because of the negative way they treat us.”
Fatimah Thomas is a Weequahic High School Marching Band alum, who played baritone horn. The reason she came back to volunteer as a band mom and help the staff wherever needed, is because her daughter, Khamiyah, is in the band and plays the baritone horn as well. She’s proud of her daughter for carrying on the legacy. So, Fatimah took the news about Terrance’s last minute, unfair, dismissal, particularly hard.
“That’s very unfortunate he can’t commentate,” she replies. “He loves the band and is very supportive of us. I’m very disappointed that he won’t be a part of our performance. Especially finding out 24 hours before…that hurts. That puts the band in a bad spot. My daughter likes Terrance. All of the kids like him. When they found out, they were saddened, surprised and confused. It’s gonna be hard to find a replacement at such short notice, especially because it is a tribute show. We lost an actual band member who passed away from COVID and another alumnus passed away as well. It puts us in a bad bind. It’s difficult to find someone to commentate the day before Thanksgiving. We have to scramble! There is no political ploy by Terrance. He’s been around for 20 years!”
“Apparently when it comes to Mr. Faheem Ellis, particularly as the Athletic Director of Weequahic High School, his approach to leadership is the same script with a different cast,” explains Terrance. “I am more than familiar with his type of behavior. The decision for Mr. Ellis, to dismissed me as the commentator of The Thanksgiving Soul Bowl, because of a non-existent board policy and some trumped up political agenda, is not only wrong, it’s presumptive and irresponsible; our children deserve better! His unfair attack against me, disguised as an attempt to extract politics from the event, is wholly unwarranted. It seems Mr. Ellis is misinformed on policies and best practices on how to engage students and assist them in achieving the desired outcome that matters most to them. Simply put, his dismissive behavior is a constant reminder of why I do the work that I do.”
Weequahic High School’s lack of academic excellence, poor reputation of fiscal irresponsibility and accountable, has dogged them for decades. A million dollars annually of unused funds for student activities, continues to be a hot button issue for the school, which begs the question, why isn’t Mr. Ellis taking advantage of these moneys to help build the infrastructure of such beloved programs as the marching band, which includes engaging with respected community leaders like Terrance L. Bankston, rather than subjugating them.
“This type of childish behavior is an embarrassment and should not be tolerated,” demands Bankston. “It’s unacceptable for public servants to shun members of the community. We must not allow administrators like Mr. Ellis to dismiss the needs and requests of our students. His action is a constant reminder why I partner with local leaders like Tommy Luna and the NEED policy group, to make change, author new, and/or address obsolete, nonsensical policies and practices, that seek to exclude and discriminate against members of the South Ward community and the Newark community at large.
“Our schools, our children, our parents and the Mayor needs HELP; not more hype. The South Ward does not need additional administrators who will further compromise the Mayor’s political legacy, the Mayor’s administration and our South Ward. So, I encourage students to continue to shine, because, his too shall pass. Please remain confident that the truth is still marching on. I will be in attendance today in solidarity with and in support of the hard work put forth by the youth representing our ward so well. I will always have your backs!”
“This is not Mr. Ellis’ first time abusing his power. He needs to be held accountable for treating students with reckless disregard,” says an anonymous source. Additionally, “today’s performance is bittersweet, says assistant band director, Jamal Littles. Last night after our final rehearsal in preparation for the Thanksgiving Soul Bowl, it broke my heart to learn that Mr. Palmer, the Weequahic High School custodian, called the Newark police on our Marching Band students and falsely accused them of trespassing, simply because he wanted them to leave the building so he could go home. The broken look on their faces was too much to bear, so I am announcing that today will be the band’s the last day ever performing at a Weequahic High School event. Also, please pray for my brother Darryl; because of all of the stress, his blood pressure went up and was rushed to the hospital. I thank all of you for your dedication and support.”
