Melvindale Students Forced to Act as Slaves in Honor of Black History

**De'troiter** · January-17-12, 08:23 PM

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news...le-20120117-ms

The link above is to the Fox2 story. If there was any doubt about the relevancy of the the NAACP, Sharpton, or Jackson, this story should give you a clear explanation why Civil Rights Activists are still necessary. I believe this assignment was absolutely demeaning, and should not be forced on unwilling students, but I bet someone will still argue that this isn't racist, because we all know "racism does not exist anymore" especially not in good ole "Michissippi."

It looks like DPS isn't the only school system that needs a review. What are your thoughts?

**corktownyuppie** · January-17-12, 08:33 PM

I'm offended by the assignment. Especially for a 4th grader?!

The only way I see that this was well-intended would be to give someone at an advanced writing composition level -- perhaps at a college level -- an assignment where they are forced to take on the 1st person perspective of another race or ethnicity in order to confront unconscious bias and promote understanding. For example, an assignment to write about a military action in Vietnam from the perspective of both a soldier and a villager.

That's pretty high level stuff, and not suitable for a 4th grader, in my opinion.

**Signman** · January-17-12, 10:34 PM

I'm not bothered at all. Of course the beat down of the white grandmother at Chucky Cheese does bother me.

**Zacha341** · January-17-12, 11:18 PM

Was she attacked by black people? What is the context to this? I am asking... is that what happened? I've not been following that story. Elaborate please.

Originally Posted by Signman

I'm not bothered at all. Of course the beat down of the white grandmother at Chucky Cheese does bother me.

**eno** · January-17-12, 11:35 PM

Originally Posted by Zacha341

Was she attacked by black people? What is the context to this? I am asking... is that what happened? I've not been following that story. Elaborate please.

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news...e%27s-20120116

**Zacha341** · January-17-12, 11:39 PM

I detest CCHeese and the foolishness [[it took one visit for me to never go back - 15+ years ago) I've seen from the 'drinking' adults getting out of hand black and white... but was this particular incident a black on white attack? The article does not specify and the comment section is interestingly absent.

Originally Posted by eno

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/local/mich.-family%3A-grandmother-assaulted-at-chuck-e.-cheese's-20120116

**De'troiter** · January-17-12, 11:56 PM

Originally Posted by Signman

I'm not bothered at all. Of course the beat down of the white grandmother at Chucky Cheese does bother me.

That was a very unfortunate incident that should have never occured whether the parties involved were black, white or green. I am an advocate for human rights no matter their race. No one deserves to be beaten unless it is a matter of self defense. But who knows; maybe the person involved remembered a class in which they were forced to mimic one of the darkest realities of U.S. history and they got overwhelmed. You should be bothered, because the ramifications of damaging the emotional fabric of a child, may very well have an effect on you someday.

**sycloneman** · January-18-12, 02:09 PM

I have a friend who's second grade daughter was put through an exercise to experience racism. I thought it was a lesson for the slightly older child. Not to say that we shouldn't educate our children early in life, but for it to be an assignment at school it is questionable at that age. We should be teaching children at that age that we should accept everyone regardless of race, creed, sex....

**SWMAP** · January-18-12, 02:16 PM

The original poster says " Forced to ACT as slaves" - and I read that the students [[all races in the classroom) were asked to imagine themselves as slaves [[or most likely the term was "enslaved people" and then write about what they thought and felt. Am I wrong? These are two different things and they have been incorrectly conflated. And the class was of 6th graders, not fourth graders or second graders.

How is this so bad? Don't we all have to learn to put ourselves in other people's shoes? Why should such a sympathetic lesson wait until "later" when children are so capable of learning how?

bartock · January-18-12, 02:22 PM

Originally Posted by De'troiter

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news...le-20120117-ms

The link above is to the Fox2 story. If there was any doubt about the relevancy of the the NAACP, Sharpton, or Jackson, this story should give you a clear explanation why Civil Rights Activists are still necessary. I believe this assignment was absolutely demeaning, and should not be forced on unwilling students, but I bet someone will still argue that this isn't racist, because we all know "racism does not exist anymore" especially not in good ole "Michissippi."

It looks like DPS isn't the only school system that needs a review. What are your thoughts?

I could argue that this isn't racist. Stupid, ignorant, ill-conceived, even conceited? Yes. Racist? Not so sure. That word is used far too often these days to describe things that aren't. Besides, the situation is being condemned all around...not really seeing the DPS comparison.

Now, are terms like "good ole Michissippi" racist? Perhaps.

**antongast** · January-18-12, 02:40 PM

Originally Posted by bartock

Now, are terms like "good ole Michissippi" racist? Perhaps.

Drawing a comparison between one US state and another US state is racist? I'm not sure I follow your reasoning there.

**RO_Resident** · January-18-12, 02:46 PM

Originally Posted by corktownyuppie

I'm offended by the assignment. Especially for a 4th grader?!

The only way I see that this was well-intended would be to give someone at an advanced writing composition level -- perhaps at a college level -- an assignment where they are forced to take on the 1st person perspective of another race or ethnicity in order to confront unconscious bias and promote understanding. For example, an assignment to write about a military action in Vietnam from the perspective of both a soldier and a villager.

That's pretty high level stuff, and not suitable for a 4th grader, in my opinion.

My son is in 4th grade. Empathy and the shared experiences of people are on the curriculum. [[As a side note, he just had a long-term writing assignment where the students had to write a journal that explored the feelings and motivations for the protagonist for historical fiction he had to read.)

Related to the OP, there are resources out there that use journaling to imagine the slave experience in the US, e.g.:
Scholastic's 'Underground Railroad: Escape from Slavery'
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activi...tell_story.asp

Discovery Education's 'Understanding Slavery' [[grade level 5-8)
http://school.discoveryeducation.com...y/teacher.html

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center's lesson guide
Lesson Title "In Someone Else's Shoes" [[grade level 4-8) see page 18
http://www.freedomcenter.org/expand-...urce%204-8.pdf

Obviously, this is a touchy subject. But, it contains a valuable lesson--the students are to write about slavery from the human experience. In the antebellum US, most people thought that slaves were sub- or non-humans. By humanizing the experience, the students learn that the slaves really were human beings with feelings, emotions, and experiences.

**De'troiter** · January-18-12, 03:07 PM

Originally Posted by SWMAP

The original poster says " Forced to ACT as slaves" - and I read that the students [[all races in the classroom) were asked to imagine themselves as slaves [[or most likely the term was "enslaved people" and then write about what they thought and felt. Am I wrong? These are two different things and they have been incorrectly conflated. And the class was of 6th graders, not fourth graders or second graders.

How is this so bad? Don't we all have to learn to put ourselves in other people's shoes? Why should such a sympathetic lesson wait until "later" when children are so capable of learning how?

I stated that they were forced to act as slaves because the child stated "She would have us dress up as slaves...then she would have us talk like one...." Those were out of the child's mouth, in my book that is acting.

Yes this is bad, as it was stated above this is not an appropriate assignment for children at such formidable ages. This assignment has a greater chance of causing black children to hate whites, than teaching anything. Slavery was not childs play. Blacks are not the only ones who are sensitive about their pass, Jews and Native Americans share the same sentiments. No one would ask a Jewish or Native American child to fantasize about the genocides carried out against their peoples, but I forgot according to some that "never happened" either. If your culture has not been destroyed, then I can see how you see nothing wrong with this assignment because you simply cannot relate. People always try to explain that in which they cannot relate. If you don't understand simply state that, but don't trample on the emotions of others, especially a child who states that he is offended, just because you can not relate to their culture.

Jews don't want to fantasize about concentration camps. Native Americans don't want to fantasize about being slaughtered and kicked off of their land, and Blacks don't want to fantasize about being kidnapped, raped, and beat on plantations. We must respect this. It may not have an emotional affect on a white person but it affect thoses cultures more than you know!

**SWMAP** · January-18-12, 03:12 PM

I think the child and her mother are out of line. The teacher said they were to imagine themselves as slavesand write about it. Do you belive everything your child ssays when he/she comes home from school? The school is saying the assignment is approrpriate. National commentators are saying it is appropropriate. The child is in 6th grade.

**SWMAP** · January-18-12, 03:17 PM

Additionally, where do you get off saying that "Blacks don't want to fantasize?" No one is asking them to fantasize. The students, Black and White are being asked to imagine what it must have been like.
Don't Black people have an entire museum in Detroit dedicated to the Black experience, some of which is about the years of slavery? Didn't I attend a depiction of a slave ship with its human cargo in the same museum alongside hundreds of Detroit schoolchildren - most of whom were Black and of grade-school age?

bartock · January-18-12, 03:19 PM

Originally Posted by antongast

Drawing a comparison between one US state and another US state is racist? I'm not sure I follow your reasoning there.

Well, it was a bit cheeky, which is why I said "perhaps." However, with the geographics, it is like saying "Hazeltucky," or what have you. Detroit has been compared to Mogadishu, and I would think that comparison would be racist in nature. It ultimately isn't really about comparing one place versus another. It is comparing negative stereotypes of the people of one place versus another, under the geographic guise.

**De'troiter** · January-18-12, 03:28 PM

Originally Posted by SWMAP

I think the child and her mother are out of line. The teacher said they were to imagine themselves as slavesand write about it. Do you belive everything your child ssays when he/she comes home from school? The school is saying the assignment is approrpriate. National commentators are saying it is appropropriate. The child is in 6th grade.

It doesn't matter, if the child and his parents were offended, than they were offended, nothing you just stated changes that. At the very least the child should have been accomodated with another assignment. This is another example why children in DPS score less on stardardized tests than children is other districts. What is a cultural norm for children in Detroit, is not the same as a cultural norm as children in Grosse Pointe. It is the responsibility of the schools to create material that suites the needs of the child in which they are trying to educate. Just because the school and the country says that something is appropiate for the majority doesn't mean that is appropriate for the minority. The nation believed that segregation was appropriate, the nation also believe that women and minorities were not equal to white men, etc. Just because the majority doesn't give a care about the emotions and cultural implications of minorities doesn't mean that they don't exist.

**De'troiter** · January-18-12, 03:33 PM

Originally Posted by bartock

Well, it was a bit cheeky, which is why I said "perhaps." However, with the geographics, it is like saying "Hazeltucky," or what have you. Detroit has been compared to Mogadishu, and I would think that comparison would be racist in nature. It ultimately isn't really about comparing one place versus another. It is comparing negative stereotypes of the people of one place versus another, under the geographic guise.

The "Michissippi" comment was sarcasm hence the

, following the comment.

**antongast** · January-18-12, 03:48 PM

Originally Posted by bartock

Well, it was a bit cheeky, which is why I said "perhaps." However, with the geographics, it is like saying "Hazeltucky," or what have you. Detroit has been compared to Mogadishu, and I would think that comparison would be racist in nature. It ultimately isn't really about comparing one place versus another. It is comparing negative stereotypes of the people of one place versus another, under the geographic guise.

Comparing Detroit to Mogadishu is absolutely racist, because the implication is that black people turn cities into lawless war zones.

"Hazeltucky" is basically a case of middle-class white people from the northern US stigmatizing working-class white people from the southern US, which is certainly classist, but it's pretty hard to argue that it's racist.

Michissippi, as far as I can tell, is an accusation that Michigan's political culture is just as regressive and insular as that of Mississippi, whose regressive and insular political culture is much more well-known. It can certainly be somewhat derogatory and offensive, especially if it's being said by a New Yorker or Californian or something, but I don't really see any racial element there at all. Nobody is arguing that Michigan and Mississippi are insular and regressive because of their racial makeup, and if they were it would be an idiotic comparison because the two states have wildly different racial demographics.

bartock · January-18-12, 04:33 PM

Originally Posted by antongast

Comparing Detroit to Mogadishu is absolutely racist, because the implication is that black people turn cities into lawless war zones.

"Hazeltucky" is basically a case of middle-class white people from the northern US stigmatizing working-class white people from the southern US, which is certainly classist, but it's pretty hard to argue that it's racist.

Michissippi, as far as I can tell, is an accusation that Michigan's political culture is just as regressive and insular as that of Mississippi, whose regressive and insular political culture is much more well-known. It can certainly be somewhat derogatory and offensive, especially if it's being said by a New Yorker or Californian or something, but I don't really see any racial element there at all. Nobody is arguing that Michigan and Mississippi are insular and regressive because of their racial makeup, and if they were it would be an idiotic comparison because the two states have wildly different racial demographics.

One can't ignore the admitted subjectiveness of any of those statements and attempt to draw hard conclusions...it really depends on the rationale behind the person making the statement. The Hazeltucky thing has been used as you've suggested. It has also been used in purely negative connotations. Same with Taylor-tucky and all of the downriver jokes...there are many implications of "white trash", which is just as racially tinged [[TO SOME) as a word like "ghetto" is to others. You talk about the Mogadishu comparison, I would suggest that most references to Hazel-tucky and Taylor-tucky are less about geographics and more about attempts to portray folks living in those places as Deliverance-types.

So, appreciating your interpretation of what others have said, without being in the mind of the person who made the statement, you can't say one way or the other. Looking at the context, I'm inclined to believe it is a little of "Column A" and "Column B".

**antongast** · January-18-12, 04:38 PM

Originally Posted by bartock

One can't ignore the admitted subjectiveness of any of those statements and attempt to draw hard conclusions...it really depends on the rationale behind the person making the statement. The Hazeltucky thing has been used as you've suggested. It has also been used in purely negative connotations. Same with Taylor-tucky and all of the downriver jokes...there are many implications of "white trash", which is just as racially tinged [[TO SOME) as a word like "ghetto" is to others. You talk about the Mogadishu comparison, I would suggest that most references to Hazel-tucky and Taylor-tucky are less about geographics and more about attempts to portray folks living in those places as Deliverance-types.

So, appreciating your interpretation of what others have said, without being in the mind of the person who made the statement, you can't say one way or the other. Looking at the context, I'm inclined to believe it is a little of "Column A" and "Column B".

But "Deliverance-types" and "white trash" aren't racist tropes [[regardless of what SOME may think about it; there are lots of people who are wrong about lots of things all the time). They're one group of white people looking down on another group of white people. It's wrong and unfair and prejudiced, but "racist" is the wrong word for it.

bartock · January-18-12, 05:04 PM

Originally Posted by antongast

But "Deliverance-types" and "white trash" aren't racist tropes [[regardless of what SOME may think about it; there are lots of people who are wrong about lots of things all the time). They're one group of white people looking down on another group of white people. It's wrong and unfair and prejudiced, but "racist" is the wrong word for it.

Really? Kind of depends on who is saying or suggesting it, doesn't it? I've heard this same argument as it relates to the "N" word.

**MidTownMs** · January-18-12, 05:08 PM

The teacher said that the black students needed to understand their heritage, however, she did not say whether or not the white students were forced to act out their heritages role during slavery?

**SWMAP** · January-18-12, 05:10 PM

"The teacher said that the black students needed to understand their heritage,"
Can you cite where this statement came from?

**iheartthed** · January-18-12, 05:14 PM

Originally Posted by De'troiter

It doesn't matter, if the child and his parents were offended, than they were offended, nothing you just stated changes that. At the very least the child should have been accomodated with another assignment.

You don't get it. It's not racist until SWMAP agrees that it is racist. The black child and his black mother aren't the ones who get to decide what is racist and how to react. No, some anonymous non-black person on an internet forum gets to decide what racism is and how these black people should react to it.