The father of a black student has sued a Detroit-area school district claiming that his daughter was racially harassed by a fifth-grade teacher's reading aloud from a book about slavery.
The suit claims Jala Petree's teacher at Margaret Black Elementary School in Sterling Heights read excerpts from Julius Lester's "From Slave Ship to Freedom Road" that contain racial epithets and racist characterizations, The Macomb Daily reported.
The suit against Warren Consolidated Schools was filed Nov. 3 in Macomb County Circuit Court in Mount Clemens, according to court records. It was filed by Jala's father, Jamey Petree, and seeks more than $50,000 in damages...
The lawsuit claims the reading has "affected the conditions of learning duties and the advantages of her further education, and seriously affected her mental and emotional well-being, past, present and future."
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Reading About Slavery Supposedly Traumatizes Student
When we even entertain silliness like this solely because of someone's skin color, I have a hard time accepting there's any "privilege" in being born white:
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4 comments:
Since this has affected the "poor child" so badly, I wonder if she's also affected by the violence and blatant sexuality portrayed in movies and hip hop/rap style music?
Perhaps he should also sue the school for forcing his child to learn. If the child does not want to learn, that can be quite a traumatic experience.
Small note about the last sentence you clipped. "...affected her mental and emotional well-being, past, present and future." Just how did something that happened in the present, affect her in the past?
Stubbing my toe today doesn't make my toe hurt yesterday.
I would remind the father that those that don't know history are doomed to repeat it. Just how ignorant does this father want his daughter to become. Just yesterday an African American collegue was in the office having a lively debate with her 17 year old daughter over having to take so many courses to graduate. The mother was reminding the daughter that her family was just two generations away from not being legally able to be educated. The daughter said "That's you story, it doesn't matter to me." I think that speaks volumes.
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