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A Case For More Black Teachers
I was 6-years-old the first time someone referred to me as a ‘nigger.’ It was on my first day of class at a predom- inately white elementary
school.
During recess a group of
my light-skinned (Cau- casian) classmates sur- rounded me and started hurling the term at me for no apparent reason. Even though I wasn't aware of the true ugliness of the word at the time, I understood that them using it toward me wasn't meant to be endear- ing and it wasn't long before I was fighting one of my pint- sized tormentors and being hauled off to the principal’s office.
I was angry, embar- rassed, scared and to make matters worse, when it was all said and done, I was painted as the aggressor in the situation and given sev- eral licks to my backside from a wooden paddle (a legal form of discipline at the time) by a white school ad- ministrator who was proba- bly more annoyed about me attending his institution than he was concerned about what actually transpired..... This was my introduction into the American school system.
That memory came rush- ing back to me the other day when I read a story out of Bronxville, NY where a 3rd grade teacher had her stu- dents participate in a mock slave auction during a his- tory lesson on slavery. And,
of course, the three lone Black children in the class were selected to play the roles of the slaves who were bought and sold.
Much like my experience 4 decades earlier the kids, who said that they were asked to pretend as if they were wearing shackles and chains, felt confused and ashamed to be placed into such a demeaning position. While the N-word wasn't used against them (at least not to my knowledge) being forced to re-enact such a painful part of African Amer- ican history for someone else's benefit, more than likely, caused the same level of psychological trauma.
Sadly, though, what these children experienced is far from uncommon. There have been several instances throughout the country re- cently where Black students have had the tragic circum- stances of their legacy mar- ginalized.
In Virginia, the only Black child in another 3rd grade class was instructed to play the part of a runaway slave while the teacher dis- cussed the story of the Un- derground Railroad. And in South Carolina, a group of Black elementary school children, on a field trip to a rural school built for African Americans, were told to walk through a cotton field while singing "slave songs."
In each instance, the edu- cators responsible for these gross displays of insensitivity
tried to justify their actions by saying that their intent was to give their students a better understanding of how things were during the era. The question I believe we should all be asking is why this type of teaching strategy isn't implemented with every historical event?
If this is how subjects are going to be introduced these days, I can't wait to hear how they approach the Holocaust that occurred in Germany during World War II? Are they going to place Jewish children inside of ovens so the kids can see what that was like as well? How about when they discuss the en- croachment into Native ter- ritories by the U. S. government during the na- tion's expansion in the 1800s? Are they going to have Native American chil- dren walk home from school during the cold of winter while attempting to get a feeling for how the Trail of Tears may have played out?
I mean, if making light of an ethnic group's tragic past is a new trend in academia, we can't stop with Black chil- dren can we? It only makes sense that every child has a chance to squirm just as un- comfortably.
Unfortunately, this is what happens when clueless- ness, cultural ignorance and racial bias collide in a learn- ing environment. Some may say that the answer to the problem is more training for those who wish to teach. But, to really stop this kind of nonsense from happening, I believe the easiest thing to do is to hire more Black peo- ple into the profession who simply know better.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can contact Mr. Barr at: cbar- ronice@gmail.com.
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Injustice In Justice!
frican Americans are incarcerated in prisons
across the country at more than five times the rate of their white counterparts and at least ten times the rate in five states. The sentencing of Michael Cohen, George Papadopoulos, Richard Pindar, and Alex van der Zwaan are classic examples of the disparity that exists in our justice system.
Michael Cohen evaded taxes, violated campaign fi- nance laws as instructed by President Donald Trump and lied to Congress and was sentenced to three years in prison. George Papadopoulos is already out of jail after serving 14 days in jail for lying to the FBI about his role with people close to the Russian government.
Dutch Attorney Alex Van der Zwaan was also sen- tenced for lying to investigators about the role he played in discussions with Trump campaign aide Rick Gates and former Trump campaign chairman, Paul Manafort. He was also ordered to pay a $20,000 fine and was de- ported after serving 30 days in jail.
Richard Pinedo was sentenced to six months in prison for identity fraud that included his selling dummy bank accounts to Russians “who used them for online payment services, like PayPal. Pinedo is sched- uled to be released in May of this year.
Data shows Black men are sentenced to more time for committing the exact same crime as a white person. They receive nearly 20 percent longer sentences at an increasing rate in recent years. The United States Sen- tencing Commission Report (USSC) blamed the Supreme Court’s ruling that allowed “federal judges sig- nificantly more discretion on sentencing by making it easier to impose harsher or more lenient sentences than the USSC’s sentencing guidelines.”
Moreover, the USSC found that” judges are less likely to voluntarily revise sentences downward for Black of- fenders than white offenders. And even when judges do reduce Black offenders sentences, they do so by smaller amounts than for their white counterparts. Their find- ings suggest that “giving judges more discretion in sen- tences . . . allows for racial bias to seep into the process.”
Another disparity is decisions made by federal pros- ecutors who tend to seek charges carrying a mandatory minimum sentence. The USSC report indicates that the disproportionate sentencing is what causes Blacks to ac- count for the large number of Black men in prisons.
Therefore, we suggest that prosecutors and judges be required to engage in training for diversity competence and implicit bias identification in order to reduce the number of Black men in prison.
If you can’t see it, you can’t correct it.
Governor Signs Medical Marijuana Bill
Earlier this week, Gover- nor Ron DeSantis signed SB 182 “Medical Use of Mar- ijuana” into law (Ch. 2019-1 SB 182, Laws of Florida). Ad- ditionally, Governor De- Santis filed a joint motion to dismiss People United for Medical Marijuana v. Depart- ment of Health and to vacate the lower court decision which held the prior law to be unconstitutional.
In January, Governor DeSantis called on his col- leagues in the Legislature to bring forward a legislative so- lution to medical marijuana
GOVERNOR RON DeSANTIS
to allow smoking as a method of consumption by qualified
patients.
Governor DeSantis
said, “Over 70 percent of Florida voters approved med- ical marijuana in 2016. I thank my colleagues in the Legislature for working with me to ensure the will of the voters is upheld. Now that we have honored our duty to find a legislative solution, I have honored my commitment and filed a joint motion to dismiss the state’s appeal and to vacate the lower court de- cision which had held the prior law to be unconstitu- tional.”
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