We don't have to agree on everything--or anything for that matter,
but I will respect your commentary as long as you respect mine.
In other words: Watch it, sucka.
George Floyd’s younger brother Philonese Floyd said today that Emmett Till was the first George Floyd. I would just like to add the words “THAT WE ARE NATIONALLY AWARE OF.” Same racism; different century. The only thing new is the cameraphone located in everyone’s pocket.
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Pssst…American school teachers. Lemme holla at you right quick. Has there been some sort of collective agreement to always miss the mark when it comes to your Black students? Was there a vote taken to initiate an intentional push toward ignorance and insensitivity? A national mandate on “Making America Great” that necessitates the indoctrination of certain concepts, in order to roll our country back to its former financial glory? Either way, you got some ‘splainin to do, since a lot of you seem to have lost your collective, raggedy, rabid ass minds when it comes to the subject of American race-based slavery.
On Tuesday, news outlets released the UMPTEENTH story circulating on the internet of school teachers being completely obtuse when it comes to the topic of slavery. It seems that these misguided mishaps occur when teachers attempt to mix the history of what President Lincoln referred to as “the peculiar institution” with any other subject.
From as early as KINDERGARTEN, teachers seem to possess a desire to inform their students about slavery—which, at face value, seems noble, important, and responsible. The scourge of race-based slavery is one that our country has yet to reckon with or atone for; awareness is vital as early as possible in order to fully grasp the issue. Children should know about American slavery in order to recognize the systems it birthed, and how the descendants of this horrible, inhumane enterprise are still affected by them daily.
The problem, however, is that a LOT of teachers don’t treat the subject properly or with the correct amount of reverence. These particular instructors, in charge of shaping young minds and perspectives for the future, appear to have a desire to normalize the horrors of slavery while idealizing the profits of slavery, all in an effort to standardize the practice of slavery with every other capitalistic enterprise America has participated in. Don’t believe me? Just watch.
From PE teachers asking children to pretend they are on the underground railroad to escape slavery as a measure of their physical skills and teamwork;
-Or teachers who asked children to participate in a mock slave auction, where the 5th graders pretended “to put imaginary chains along our necks and wrists, and shackles on our ankles” and were bid on by their White classmates;
-Manhattan teachers assigning homework that asks: “One slave got whipped five times a day. How many times did he get whipped in a month (31 days)?” And questions about a ship filled with 3,799 slaves, asking "One day, the slaves took over the ship. 1,897 are dead. How many slaves are alive?”;
-Georgia teachers handing out worksheets that read: “Each tree had 56 oranges. If eight slaves pick them equally, then how much would each slave pick?”;
-In Texas, children are asked to weigh the "positive" and negative aspects of slavery—yes, you read that right.
-Wisconsin fourth graders were challenged to give three “good” reasons and three bad reasons for slavery—yes, yes…you read that correctly as well.
-Eighth graders in Tennessee are told to "create a political cartoon depicting immigrant labor in the United States" and write songs or poems to "compare and contrast the lives of plantation owners and their slave population.”;
-In South Carolina, children on a field trip corresponding to a lesson on the Great Depression, were told to pick cotton and sing songs with lyrics such as "I like it when you fill the sack. I like it when you don't talk back. Make money for me.”;
-Lessons on the 3/5ths compromise in North Carolina, asked students how many slaves would be needed to equal at least four White people;
-And when teaching elementary students about Westward Expansion in Missouri, the assignment reads: ”You own a plantation or farm and therefore need more workers. You begin to get involved in the slave trade industry and have slaves work on your farm. Your product to trade is slaves. Set your price for a slave. These could be worth a lot.” Your product. Could be.
What. The Actual. Fuck.
You know…I could wax poetic about all of this, identifying the dangers of not having teachers with the proper awareness, empathy, or sensitivity imprinting the ridiculous concept that slavery was just a “thing that happened the past” on our youth. I could type scathing takedowns of the educational system’s complicity in perpetuating the disregard our country shows toward one of its most heinous profit ventures—including examples of how Texas Textbooks were edited to refashion the Atlantic Slave Trade as “immigration” for “workers”. I could talk about how racism, classism, and systematic oppression will never be conquered if this is what we are feeding our children from the onset of their educational careers. I could talk about how these types of assignments eat away at Black children’s self-esteem while building superiority complexes in White children. I could even talk about how these incidents, widespread and repetitive, erode the trust parents have in the school system when it comes to properly educating their children. But I’m not gonna do that today.
What I am gonna do, however, is simply ask the question: IS YOU IGNANT? Maybe a lapse in proper spelling and grammar will alert you to the ABSURDITY of this situation. If you are not teaching slavery within the proper context: how HUMAN BEINGS were kidnapped, sold as chattel, forced to work in horrendous conditions for no pay while making their owners and this entire country financially formidable, intentionally bred like livestock to continue the trend for 250 years, raped and murdered at the will of Whites throughout those 250 years (and beyond), and how half the nation literally went to WAR in order to continue treating Black humans this way, then YOU DON’T NEED TO TEACH ANYTHING ABOUT SLAVERY, PERIOD.
Stop asking Black children to romanticize the barbaric treatment of their ancestors. Stop asking Black children to dehumanize their ancestors. It amazes me DAILY how White people are the most ardent champions of anthropomorphizing pets, yet cannot attribute humanity to fellow human beings that possess melanin. Stop asking Black children to envision their ancestors as items in a math problem used to profit White people. Stop asking Black children to put themselves in the shoes of their ancestors fleeing from the unspeakable horrors of being torn apart by dogs, or hanged from their necks and burned while still breathing. Stop asking Black children to compartmentalize the repugnant hatred White people have for them and their ancestors as history. It is not history. It is ever present, it is tangible, and it is real. Stop asking Black children to be a lesson, while FREQUENTLY FAILING TO TEACH WHITE CHILDREN ONE.
This trend has to stop. Now. There are numerous resources teachers can consult to better inform themselves on how to tackle the sordid subject of race in this country. (Links to just a few are provided here, here, and here.) Maybe by doing so, they will arm themselves with a better approach to teaching about American slavery. Until then, parents and caregivers must remain diligent in calling out these preposterous assignments, and the teachers who hand them out in the name of education.
Imagine, as a little girl, you are told you are full of magic. That the women who came before you were also magic, and did magical things like breaking ceilings made of glass. That no matter what obstacle you face, as long as you magically lean in, you have the chance to overcome; propelled by the spirit of sisterhood, guided by goddesses and fairy godmothers, saturated with super-powered sugar, spice and everything nice, because that’s what little girls are made of. Imagine you are told you are special, unique and treasured; that your voice is worthy and strong. It is your connection to your magic and you should never, under any circumstances, allow anyone to take it away from you.
Now imagine, as a little girl, for seven hours of the day, five days a week, you are sent to a place where you are told your magic is too much. It makes no sense to you, because you aren’t doing anything differently than your peers, but you…look different. Which makes your magic…different. You’re told it’s not the right kind of magic, not the acceptable magic. It doesn’t match the other girls’ magic. It’s too big, even when you shrink yourself. It’s too loud, even when you whisper. It’s too strong, even when you’re not moving. (This video of fired School Resource Officer Ben Fields attacking a girl is an unpleasant example of that.) Your magic is perceived as dark magic: malevolent and vicious. Unseemly and uncouth, meant only for disruption and defiance. It’s a magic that seeps into your tone and your mannerisms, your hairstyles and clothing. It must be contained and disciplined at all costs.
Your magic scares the people who don’t understand it, and as a result, you are subjected to unnecessary and egregious chastisement, in an effort to subdue your voice, if not completely destroy it.
Dr. Monique Morris has spent years researching the trend of Black girls being more harshly disciplined in school than their white peers, and in a new documentary Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools (based on her book of the same title), she explores why. Interviewing over 150 girls, educators, and justice professionals, Dr. Morris unpacks the numerous biases Black girls face in the classroom. Numerous studies have shown the disparity in discipline toward minority students, Black students in particular. Data collected in 2009-10 representative of approximately 85% of the nation’s students, show that in areas where Black students made up less than a fifth of the enrollment (18%), they account for the majority of students suspended once or more than once (81% combined), and almost half of all expulsions (39%). A more recent study from the National Women’s Law Center shows that Black girls are five times more likely to be suspended and six times more likely to be expelled than white girls.
Ironically, recent studies have also shown that Black women earn more degrees than any other demographic in this country when characterized by race and gender. The National Center for Education Statistics released information that shows Black women leading in the amount of conferred degrees, earning 66% of bachelor’s degrees, 71% of master’s degrees, and 65% of all doctorate degrees. These numbers have been on the rise for the past twenty years.
Comparison of this data could lead a conspiracy theorist to believe a calculated effort to halt this particular trend has been implemented in classrooms across the nation. They could argue the racist origins of this country have manifested themselves into TORs, IEPs, dress codes targeting Black hairstyles, and zero tolerance policies, all in order to stifle Black students. Their culture, heritage, religions, and language are heavily policed via disciplinary guidelines that were written without their culture, heritage, religions or language in mind. One doesn’t need to be a conspiracy theorist, however, to admit the efforts to suppress minority progress in this country are ever-present, calculated or not. And they have been effective since the beginning.
In the late 1600’s scared white men, fueled by hysteria, came to the conclusion that a Caribbean slave named Tituba “bewitched” two small girls (who had probably ingested toxic fungus, causing them to vomit and have seizures). Tituba is the first woman to be accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials. It was later discovered that her “confession” was not only coached, but beat out of her by slave master Samuel Parris. She remained imprisoned until someone purchased her, and was then lost to history. Dozens of other people suffered during the trials, true—but it’s important to note that the first person was the one that was…different. The fear of Tituba’s cultural differences created a maelstrom that destroyed a community.
America was afraid of the different girl then, and they remain afraid. Yet with Black women being hailed as “The Most Educated Group in the US,” despite all the disciplinary disparities intended to trip them up, one thing is clear: #BlackGirlMagic is real.
As our societal landscape has gone through shifts and changes over the centuries, the American people have slowly adjusted their public behaviors to reflect our progress. In the wake of anti bullying campaigns, language is being scrutinized more than ever and, in some cases, rightfully so. The schoolyard chant of “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” has gone the way of the dinosaur, because with technology and social media being the major form of communication most young people use, words have indeed become weapons. Numerous schools are implementing new standards as to permissible behavior for it’s students, some even advocating for the “banning”of certain words. Within those standards, an argument to ban the n-word from all schools is a familiar and highly supported notion.
On the surface, it makes complete sense. The n-word, a word born out of pure ignorance and hate, has been used as a weapon to attack Black people since race-based slavery began on this continent 400 years ago. Earlier this year, I wrote about what it means when white people call us the n-word: “When white people say nigger, it’s saying ‘Black thing, you don’t belong.’ It is an attack on a Black person’s humanity, and not in a hyperbolic way. When white people call Black people nigger, it is their clarion call for Making America Great Again; That time where, less than 60 years ago, you could hang a Black body up in a tree just because you wanted to. For kicks, you could cut off their genitalia or cut out the baby growing inside them. You could take a picture of all this, and send it across the nation to your white relatives as a keepsake or as a postcard, inviting them to join you the next time. It was common practice. It was accepted. It was supported by law enforcement. It was encouraged and championed.” This, alone, is enough argument for us to regulate the word in every environment, ESPECIALLY schools. Young, malleable minds should never be encouraged to freely toss such venom around without consequence.
Yet, I still make an argument in DEFENSE of the n-word coming out of the mouths of Black people. Maybe not at school, of course—it’s akin to an expletive in that regard—but Black children who grow up in a culture where that word has been reclaimed, remixed, and repurposed for their personal use in their communities have the RIGHT to this kind of language. If we were to ban it from schools for EVERYONE, which means we end up punishing EVERYONE for saying it, we are being intellectually dishonest about the context and use of the word. This is a complete disservice to and highly disrespectful toward Black American culture. It erases the herculean feat Black people in this country have accomplished, by literally turning the singular word meant to destroy us into something we use on OUR terms. It also cripples children of other races; How are they to learn self control, common sense, and respect boundaries if the use and punishment for the word is equal among all children?
Author Ta-nehisi Coates brilliantly makes the point about context and relationship when we employ language: “Coates first pointed out that it is normal in our culture for some people or groups to use certain words that others can’t. For example, his wife calls him ‘honey’; it would not be acceptable, he said, for strange women to do the same. Similarly, his dad was known by his family back home as Billy — but it would be awkward for Coates to try to use that nickname for his father. ‘That’s because the relationship between myself and my dad is not the same as the relationship between my dad and his mother and his sisters who he grew up with,’ Coates said. ‘We understand that.’The same concept applies to different groups and their words. “My wife, with her girl friend, will use the word ‘bitch,’” Coates said. “I do not join in. You know what I’m saying? I don’t do that. I don’t do that. And perhaps more importantly, I don’t have a desire to do it.”
Therein lies the crux of the problem: the word itself really isn’t the issue, ladies and gentlemen. The issue is that white people DESIRE to say the word, and do not want to be told they can’t do something that Black people are allowed to do. ESPECIALLY if it’s something they created to hurt us, then we flipped the script and empowered ourselves with it, and now THEY are punished for using it.
People also love to prop up rap music and hip-hop as the evergreen, overpowering force that makes the n-word fly recklessly from the mouths of non-Black people. Just a few weeks ago, consistently problematic Latina actress Gina Rodriguez was a twitter trending topic, stemming from her use of the n-word while singing along to a Lauryn Hill verse on her IG Live video. The actress apologized, but a debate began about how Latino people should be given a pass because they are also a minority, and it’s ok for non-Black minorities to say it, ESPECIALLY if it was part of a song. I don’t know about you dear reader, but I grew up on hip-hop, even though my mother was never a fan of the language. Throughout the entirety of my hip-hop life, EVEN INTO ADULTHOOD, I have managed to recite hundreds of verses while self-censoring every curse word and n-word around her. Why? Because I respect my mother. I know these words—no matter what *I* mean by them—make her uncomfortable. So, I actively choose NOT to say them when I am in her presence. Are we expected to believe white people and non-Black people of color lack the ability to do the same? That their comprehension of context is inferior? That their multitasking skills are sup-par? If we choose to ban the word for everyone, just because white and non-Black people can’t control themselves, hey—it’s a fair claim.
In his interview, Coates makes another great point: “The question one must ask is why so many white people have difficulty extending things that are basic laws of how human beings interact to Black people.” Maybe it is because they don’t respect Black people’s right to set boundaries; Maybe it’s because they don’t respect Black people’s right to exist differently or Black people’s ability to do something they cannot. Maybe it’s because they don’t respect Black people’s right to be human. THIS is where schools need to start attacking and unpacking the issue. The problem isn’t the word, it’s the people who want to say the word when they know they shouldn’t. That should be the measuring stick schools use when choosing punishments for the offense. Blanket protocols and guidelines do not work to solve the real problem. Yes, the n-word should be banned from use by certain people; Yes, certain people should be punished for using the word; Those people, however, are not Black.
Dear Caucasian Teachers:
Let’s gather in a circle of safety, shall we? Everyone come and sit criss cross applesauce on the sharing mat, open two eyes, open two ears, and close one mouth. Now, take a deep, cleansing breath in…and gently blow it out. You ready? Let’s begin.
THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? HAVE YOU ALL LOST YOUR ENTIRE RABID ASS MINDS? DO YOU NOT REALIZE YOU ARE THE ONES RESPONSIBLE FOR SHAPING THE YOUNG MINDS OF THIS COUNTRY, AND IMPARTING UPON THEM THE PROPER GRAVITY OF CIRCUMSTANCES IN OUR HISTORY? WHAT MANNER OF INEPTITUDE ARE WE DEALING WITH IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM RIGHT NOW?!?
This latest example of educational incompetence emerges from the Freeport School District in Long Island, NY. Ah, the Liberal Northeast: where racists don’t ever think they’re being racist, because…geography. *eye roll*
Here we have an unidentified, white, eighth grade teacher who decided to ask her students for “funny captions” on Slave and Reconstruction Era photos of Black people. The teacher has been quoted as telling the children “don’t bore me” with their captions for the assignment. Many of the Black students at the school took issue with this, and when they got home, so did their parents and caretakers. The assignment was posted to social media, as it damn well should have been, and the community also expressed it’s displeasure with the demeaning and denigrating homework.
The unidentified teacher, who has taught in the district for 20 years (and, according to older students who attended this same middle school, has done this type of thing before), was “administratively reassigned” in light of the investigation into her actions (for the uninitiated, “administratively reassigned” means she isn’t teaching in a classroom, but is still employed, assigned duties, and getting a paycheck). She also issued an apology which, ironically, was VERY boring and boiler plate in it’s execution: "As a teacher and fellow member of this school community, it is my responsibility to exercise the highest degree of care and thought in all of my student and staff interactions. I failed to do so last week, and I fully accept that I must work hard to rebuild trust from my students, colleagues and the community.”
Girl, BYE. First of all, if you had even put the LOWEST DEGREE of care and thought into the Slavery and Reconstruction Eras of our nation, you would know there was absolutely NOTHING FUNNY about EITHER. ESPECIALLY not in the weary, worn, abused, and oppressed faces of those who had to live through those horrors. However, for one to realize that the inhumane acts of slavery and sharecropping contained no humor, one would also have to respect the race of people who endured said inhumane acts. This is a character flaw many, and I mean MANY people who are not of African descent in this country possess. The lack of reverence, empathy, and respect for what Black people have experienced on this continent from 1619 to 2019 is staggering. It’s almost like…no one is teaching about it properly. *blank stare*
Most students have a love/hate relationship with the subject of History, and in the age of twitter and hashtags, educators have turned to unconventional tactics in order to engage the students. This “funny caption” assignment could have possibly been an attempt to replicate the activity a Huntsville, Alabama teacher used to highlight events of the American Revolution as if they were on Twitter. Hypothetical tweets from General George Washington to George Cornwallis that read “Guess we’ll have to call the war the American ‘Revoution” because y’all took that L. #independence” made for a hilariously memorable teaching aid. The difference here, however, is that no one’s humanity is being disparaged in the act. There are certain historical events that should never be viewed through a lens so cloudy and casual as comedy. Slavery and sharecropping are two such events. No one would ever treat the Holocaust with such irreverence, and many suspect it is because white people empathize with Jewish people more than with Black people. One wonders why. *blank stare*
The superintendent of Freeport Schools, Dr. Kishore Kuncham, had this to say about the incident:
“Let me be perfectly clear: Our investigation has determined that this lesson was poorly conceived and executed…Aside from the fact that this is a poor lesson, it is an insensitive trivialization of a deeply painful era for African Americans in this country, and it is unacceptable…The emotional and social wellness of our students is always our highest priority and we take any insensitive comments made by staff very seriously.”
Let’s hope when the investigation is completed, this teacher learns a valuable lesson in history, respect, culture, and how not to devalue the Black experience in America.
The 26 year old adult who admitted to raping a 14 year old child.
Sometimes you read about a crime that goes unpunished or under punished, and you shrug your shoulders on some, “well…that’s our flawed justice system.” Then, there are times you read about a crime that goes unpunished or under punished, and you want to go full DRACARYS on said flawed system. Yesterday was the latter. (If you don’t know what that word means, you’re missing out of one of the biggest pop culture events of our time, and I really don’t know what to tell you about that.)
In an article from the New York Times last week, the headline reads: “School Bus Driver Who Raped 14-Year-Old Will Not Go to Prison.” Any normal, rational, human being with reading capabilities and analytical reasoning skills beyond a third grade level would see this and probably think, “Clearly, there HAS to be more to the story.” Reading past the byline, you are greeted with the words: “Shane Piche raped a girl who rode his bus in upstate New York.” If you then dared to investigate how this TWENTY-SIX YEAR OLD MAN RAPED A CHILD, TWELVE YEARS HIS JUNIOR, ENTRUSTED TO HIS CARE EVERY DAY OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, the details might evoke nausea.
Piche apparently planned this crime, giving the child gifts and pumping her underage body full of liquor before taking her to his house and raping her. After his arrest, he plead guilty to rape in the third degree. You might then say “So…this was premeditated, and more than one crime was committed. Plus, he plead guilty—he should be UNDER the jail, right? That “Will *Not* Go to Prison” has gotta be a typo in the headline. DO BETTER failing New York Times!!”
Yeah, no.
Piche was only sentenced to PROBATION and a stint on the sex offender registry at the LOWEST LEVEL, level one. Meaning he will not be included in online sex offender databases, nor will anyone be able to set up a relocation alert on him. So basically, if he moves to your town, you won’t know he’s there nor will you be able to research his sex offender history online. Hide your kids, hide your wife—because she might kill him if he touches her kids, and probation probably won’t be an option.
The judge at the center of this ridiculously lenient sentence, James P. McClusky, gives no legitimate insight as to why he was so compassionate, save the fact that Piche has never been arrested for this before (mind you, 3 out of every 4 rapes go unreported), and there was only one victim (lucky for Shane he wasn’t trying to get some group action going with the other 9th graders, eh?). Prosecutors argued for rape in the second degree and a level 2 sex offender designation, which would have at least put him in the database for maximum accessibility. But McClusky feels that all Shane needs is probation. For raping a 14 year old girl.
Shane’s lawyer, Eric Schwartz agrees of course, stating “Getting him onto probation to get sex-offender treatment, our hope is that we can teach him better ways to deal with these issues and maybe educate him about making better choices in the future, as well as keeping him from having access to children at this point which is part of what the probationary period will do.” WUT?!?! They don’t necessarily want him punished for the CRIME he committed and plead guilty to—they just want him to make “better choices.” Oh.
Shane choosing water over soda is better choices. Shane choosing grilled foods over fried ones is better choices. Shane choosing to purchase stock IN Starbucks instead of frappuchinos FROM Starbucks is better choices. But Shane choosing to have sex with ADULTS INSTEAD OF MINORS IS A NECESSARY CHOICE. Shane being given probation after raping a 14 year old girl is not a good, better, nor the best choice. It is an irresponsible, inexplicable, and insensitive choice. It ranks the worth of the criminal much higher than the worth of the victim. It robs the victim and her family of justice.
If Shane were not white, would McClusky have been so charitable? If Shane had raped a little 14 year old boy, would his crime be thought of as one he has a “low risk of repeating”? Where are we as a society when a 14 year old girl being taken advantage of sexually is considered LESS PUNISHABLE BY LAW than when Black and Brown people are caught in possession of marijuana for personal use? No, seriously—people are sentenced more harshly for weed than people who RAPE CHILDREN.
Even though the recommended sentencing for a sexual offense class E felony are 1.5-4 years in prison, McClusky chose probation for Shane. The guidelines for probation are as follows: “…the court may sentence a person to a period of probation upon conviction of any crime if the court, having regard to the nature and circumstances of the crime and to the history, character and condition of the defendant, is of the opinion that:
(i) Institutional confinement for the term authorized by law of the defendant is or may not be necessary for the protection of the public;
(ii) the defendant is in need of guidance, training or other assistance which, in his case, can be effectively administered through probation supervision; and
(iii) such disposition is not inconsistent with the ends of justice.
There is currently a MoveOn petition to recall McClusky. If you are outraged by the injustice of this case, feel free to click here and sign it.
