Racism

Another Parent Buries Their Child: The Murder Of Walter Scott

Posted on by Cool Pappa

abc_walter_scott_michael_slager_video_bug2_01_jc_150407_4x3_992

 

walter-scottHow many more stories do we need to SEE? A generation ago, video footage (Selma)  or even a photo (Emmett Till) sparked change and outrage in all people groups. Today, many won’t blink, will turn on and listen to Fox News, and continue to defend the actions of police who are lying and shooting down African-Americans with impunity. If this were any other people group, there is no doubt that the nation’s reaction would be completely different.

I bet the Church’s reaction would be different as well. I’d walk into service and people would be talking about how we need to pray for what is happening in our country and how they are scared. Folks would be holding prayer services for the persecution of ___ group in the nation. There would probably be academic debates about whether we are in The Tribulation period, if Obama’s the Antichrist, and when will the Abomination of desolation go down in the temple.

Instead, that statement is currently mostly reserved for President Obama and so-called “gay marriage”. Because you know, “we” (a group in which I’m not a part despite being a Believer) need to “take our country back”.

I wouldn’t be able to turn on my selected Christian podcast or talk show without hearing, “God will judge those who practice such terroristic acts and this is a supernatural attack against those created in the image of God, and we as Christians need to stand against such acts…”.

Instead, they’ll discuss how rap music (you know, that “jungle music”) creates thugs and the police are just enforcing the power of the sword given to them by God. After all, the KKK didn’t start executing and calling people niggers until rap came along using the word in the late ’80s. By that logic, I guess the Klan was actually a peace loving Christian organization during the civil rights 60’s as African-American singers were talking about being young, gifted and black.

Better yet, what would the nation’s reaction be if this video would have shown him shooting a dog running away?

Walter Scott

I can tell you the reaction we are seeing now though. And that’s a fund that’s been created defending the officer and raising money for him. Something we’ve seen for many of the officers and citizens who have shot African-American’s since George Zimmerman.

But the most important point of all, had there been no video (thank God for the brave person who recorded and turned it in), there would have been few questions and the cop’s LIE and planting of evidence would have been known only by God and officer.

My family’s prayers go out Walter Scott’s family. They should not have to bury their son.

This tragic incident opens up a whole other can of issues that I will discuss later. For example, the number of contacts that innocent African-American’s have with the police.  Take a look at New York’s Stop-and-Frisk data here. A busted tail light and child support warrant was enough to get Scott killed. I know many will say, “Look, he was running so he must have done something!” While I ask the question, “What would make a 50 year old man, who had a busted light as was late on his child-support (joining an enormous number of men including your’s truly at one time), run from the police?”

Was he fearing for this life?

Judging by the video, his fear was justified.

Sadly, he was unable to run fast enough.

Please pray for our nation, because for many of us, we’re beginning to wonder if Jim Crow 2.0 is the beginning of a new Tribulation period.

 

 

To Leave A Child and To Bury Your Child – The Death of Calvon “Andre” Reid

Posted on by Cool Pappa

Perhaps it is a waste of time to focus on the lives of those being killed at the hands of those who are supposed to be protecting and serving the community. No matter what the case, someone is bound to say, “Yea, but what about…”. The problem with those “what abouts” are numerous, but the two main one’s are:

1.) They never warrant the death penalty

2.) They are false rumors spread by the police, internet trolls, or the media to taint the jury, gather public support and slander the dead.

That’s it, plain and simple. The latest example is this. At this point in 2015, who has proven to be the real thug, Trayvon Martin or George Zimmerman?

So let me make an appeal from this angle. What about the children left behind after their father’s have been killed?

What about the parents who have to bury their sons? Don’t we always say, “The worst thing in life is for a parent to bury their child.”

I bet the pain of death stings even more when they can’t even find out the facts of the case because of police cover-ups and/or false testimonies. When justice is not given, where do you turn next?

Please read the latest killing HERE of Calvon “Andre” Reid in Florida. This story is quite disturbing. Another father is dead, leaving behind two sons and has to be buried by his parents. What’s also disturbing is that eyewitness testimony has sent many black men to prison, where some have died or remain AFTER it is found out the person committed perjury. However, eyewitness testimony is nothing when given against a police officer. Even after lies seem to be told following the incident by the police, they receive the assumption of innocence.

Next, watch the video with his parents HERE.

CSD

True American History: Lynching, American Terrorists, and Christianity

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I struggled with whether I should write this post, but I’ve been continuously hearing about the “barbaric and savage” actions of ISIL, came out of seeing American Sniper to some guys saying, “If they want to give their country to some kids like that, then we should kill ’em…” and some getting upset at President Obama’s comments in which he truthfully pointed out:

“Lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ. In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ. … So this is not unique to one group or one religion. There is a tendency in us, a sinful tendency that can pervert and distort our faith.”

Rush Limbaugh, someone who many Christians follow and align their beliefs with rather closely said, “Jim Crow’s not around today.  A thousand years ago, yeah.”

Mike Huckabee and Elisabeth Hasselbeck on Fox, two self-proclaimed Christians, seem to take issue with the president’s comments as well, because he did not condemn Islamic terrorism enough during his speech.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBIGWabg9H4

While that’s certainly a conversation for another time, I’m more concerned about the complete ignorance by those who many Christians follow daily. Their position is even more appalling for many African-American Christians and even those who may not profess Christ (see HERE and HERE). Sorry Rush, no “ditto” here, but Jim Crow laws were in full effect until at least 1965. While I’m an old man, that’s less than a decade before I entered into this world, and I’m not a thousand years old.

The question becomes, is Rush that ignorant or does he know that most American’s are ignorant enough not to know their own history, or a combination of the two?

Jesse Washington, seen in the photo below, was murdered in 1916. For the math impaired, that’s only 99 years ago, during the other event we all must study in school called WWI.

 

jesse-washington-5Jesse washington_ground_level

In a report just released yesterday by the Equal Justice Initiative, it states:

“EJI researchers documented 3959 racial terror lynchings of African Americans in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia between 1877 and 1950 – at least 700 more lynchings of black people in these states than previously reported in the most comprehensive work done on lynching to date…This was not “frontier justice” carried out by a few marginalized vigilantes or extremists. Instead, many African Americans who were never accused of any crime were tortured and murdered in front of picnicking spectators (including elected officials and prominent citizens) for bumping into a white person, or wearing their military uniforms after World War I, or not using the appropriate title when addressing a white person. People who participated in lynchings were celebrated and acted with impunity. Not a single white person was convicted of murder for lynching a black person in America during this period.” (Emphasis mine) – See HERE

Please read that last sentence again if you wonder why, as late great sports journalist Ralph Wiley wrote the book, Why Black People Tend To Shout. Ralph wrote this when we were shouting about Rodney King (and having so-called honest discussions about race and taking down barriers…remember that?)

Today, we are still shouting about Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, John Crawford and so many more.

Ralph Wiley

I wrote about going to hear author James Loewen HERE. During the lecture, Loewen presented a similar picture to those below and noted a few points.

#1 – Lynchings were so common, that many were unreported because it just wasn’t news. It was just something American’s practiced. Obviously, Loewen’s statement is backed up by the research above.

#2 – Lynching in America was so common, that Americans were proud. So proud, they took their children to watch, created post cards showing the brutality (who did they send those too?) and even smiled for the camera.

#3 – Lynching, the murder of another human life, was done with no fear of the law. Obviously, when you look at the photos and see that no one covered their face with shame or shielded their kids from seeing such a, dare I say, a barbaric and savage act, done by those who I’m sure also considered it their obligation to be in church on Sunday.

That last point, is President Obama’s point. The symbol of the KKK was and is the cross. Our Savior died on a cross to redeem mankind (John 3:16-17). In the comments below, since we have many sermons by Christian ministers from 100+ years ago, I would appreciate if anyone could list where I can find some messages of those ministers speaking against them using the cross and the other acts of terrorism they perpetrated from the late 1800’s to mid-1900’s.

KKK and Cross

I’m serious, because I can find you some African-American ministers who did speak out.

Trust me, if you’re a light-shaded Christian and you’re discussing the President’s remarks with a Christian from a darker people-group, they will likely think of the above, but likely not say anything as we just know this is the cost of “doing business”.

As a father, I protect my kids from many things, but history is not one of them. The last thing I want to raise in my house are children as ignorant as the talking-heads in the media, that feed many of those I work and even go to church with each week.

Take a look at the photos.

Take a look at everything in the photos.

Perhaps the true grotesque image is not the body hanging from that tree, but the smiling face looking at you in the picture.

I’ll leave you with what I always encourage my readers to do. Ask your relatives who were alive what they thought back then, ask what they remember. This history wasn’t a thousand years ago, that history may be sitting next to you on Easter Sunday.

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The CSD Tribe Checks Out The Ken Ham Presentation: One Race-One Blood

Posted on by Cool Pappa

If the Church can't get this right, why would the World believe them when it comes to Jesus Christ?

If the Church can’t get this right, why would the World believe them when it comes to Jesus Christ?

The CSD Tribe went to see Ken Ham present on One Race One Blood and it was astounding! I can’t help but wonder if it’s because Ken is from Australia, if that is why he can speak the truth, because he was not brought up to think as an “American”. He’s the first light-skinned Christian (see the video on why I didn’t just call him “white”) I’ve ever heard boldly proclaim that Adam & Eve should not be portrayed as being “white”, because it is not biblical. I even thought he was about to start going in on “White Jesus”! (Read about those thoughts HERE and HERE)

Ham even pointed out that there are “Christians”, who would rather their child marry someone of a different Spiritual Race (meaning, they are not Christians and are unequally yoked according to 2 Corinthians 6:14) than for them to marry someone from a so-called different Physical Race. Actually no other race exists, as even the secularists acknowledge that there are no races. Therefore, color is made up (sociologists have long said this) and Christians should be leading the way in defining and proving this fact, but instead we buy in and may I add, bring shame to the Word of God. 

Remember, Acts 17:26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.

My 13-year old daughter wrote a short essay in which she summarized things pretty well by stating, “…how did we get different races? We shouldn’t say race, we should say people groups, and we should not say color, we should say shade…Adam and Eve must have had the DNA to make different shades of skin. This means that Adam and Eve must have had a skin shade of light brown, because if you were dark brown, you would have a combination of ‘AABB’, but if you were a light shade you would have ‘aabb’. So it makes sense for them to be in the middle as AaBb.”

Yes indeed, that’s a lesson they wouldn’t be getting from the government school or most Christian schools.

The is a terrific video to show the fam and even my daughter said, “…I’m glad I went and didn’t stay home.”

Little does she know, she really didn’t have a choice any way…

Here’s a presentation of One Race One Blood:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbODW6XO8zY

More info is available at http://www.answersingenesis.org

CSD

Did The Blind Side’s Real Life Mom Blind Side Two Young Men?

Posted on by Cool Pappa

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I remember two distinct times that my dad got pulled over with me in the car. One was in our city, another was in a local suburb, but I remember him becoming infuriated when he was asked the following questions:

– Where are you going?

– Why are you over here (that one was in the suburb)?

No, this wasn’t a legal sundown town from the ’40s, it was the late ’80s. From what I remember, my dad’s response was, “I’m a grown man, I have the right to go where ever I want.” I never remember him getting a ticket for anything, and still have no idea why we had to get out of the car.

withers-i-am-man-jpeg

Black parents often speak of having “The Talk” with their young sons (or even daughters). That talk may explain how to act when the police are near you, how to act when in a store so security doesn’t think you’re stealing and whatever other circumstances they may find themselves in where they may get that super-predator label. It’s that label that separates the conversation from the one every other people group has with their children. My wife and I have had these conversations with our children, and especially with my 15 year-old son, who at 5’10 and over 170 pounds, has the physique of a man despite his boyish looking face.

Listen to the story of Kris Banks, one of the gentlemen in the photo:

Perhaps you’ve seen the Facebook post from Leigh Anne Tuohy saying,

“We see what we want! It’s the gospel truth! These two were literally huddled over in a corner table nose to nose and the person with me said “I bet they are up to no good” well you know me… I walked over, told them to scoot over. After 10 seconds of dead silence I said so whats happening at this table? I get nothing.. I then explained it was my store and they should spill it… They showed me their phones and they were texting friends trying to scrape up $3.00 each for the high school basketball game! Well they left with smiles, money for popcorn and bus fare. We have to STOP judging people and assuming and pigeon holing people! Don’t judge a book by its cover or however you’d like to express the sentiment! Accept others and stoping seeing what you want to see!!!“

At first blush, many applauded the good deed that Leigh Anne had done, but others like Kris Bank’s teacher and mother questioned the incident. They looked deeper and seemed to question why someone, especially a private citizen, would be questioning the two gentlemen in the first place.

Now before you dismiss this as race-baiting, what happened in Sanford, Florida between Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman? That young man reacted differently when confronted by a male (who was not a police officer), at night, because he looked suspicious. If I change any of those variables in this case, could the event have possibly ended up differently?

I’ll always remember my mom commenting on how many white parents never think about the hurt she feels when her son (me in that case) is rejected just because he’s black. Yet, she has always tried to treat their children just like anyone else regardless of their skin color. Personally, even if I give Tuohy the benefit of the doubt, I have to assume that she would never want someone approaching her daughter presupposing that she was “up to something”, especially if she was an honor student.

Sadly, perhaps these young men learned a lesson. Sometimes, you don’t have to be in a car. Sometimes you don’t have to be walking outside in a particular neighborhood dressed a certain way. Sometimes you may just be sitting there, and you may have to answer the 5W’s and 1H on call.

Do you think Banks was being exploited by Tuohy?

Did the two young men have a right to not answer Tuohy’s inquiry?

How would you have had your children respond?

How would you respond as a parent?

What talks have you had with your children?

They Must Learn – CSD’s Museum Tour: Florida’s Groveland Four

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Photo taken at the The Orange County Regional History Center

Photo taken at the The Orange County Regional History Center – CSD Museum Trip

Our family makes numerous trips to various museums as part of our homeschool teaching. The lessons we learn, often about history, truly teach as that as Soloman wisely said,

New Living Translation
Ecc. 1:9 – History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.

From “A Southern Sheriff’s Law and Disorder”, author John Hill writes:

“His big break came in 1949. In July, a white farm bride claimed she was abducted and raped by four black men in the backwoods town of Groveland. McCall quickly arrested Sam Shepherd and Walter Irvin, who had been pals in the Army. The two had refused to work in the groves. Shepherd’s family also had angered many whites for making a success of a small family farm, thus improving their standing within the black community. McCall saw the chance to take this “uppity” black man down a peg. By charging Shepherd with rape, the sheriff would solve two problems at once.

Photo said to have been taken minutes after McCall claimed to have been attacked.

Photo said to have been taken minutes after McCall claimed to have been attacked by Shepherd and Irvin.

McCall’s deputies beat the men and did little to stop the rioting that continued for days after the arrests. Shepherd and Irvin were convicted and sentenced to death. (A third defendant received life in prison; a fourth was pursued, shot and killed by a posse.) In April 1951, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the death sentences, blaming McCall for ruining the prospects of a fair trial. In November, as he was transporting the prisoners for retrial, McCall shot Shepherd and Irvin on a dark and deserted country road, claiming the manacled prisoners tried to jump him and escape. Irvin survived and told a different story — that McCall shot in cold blood.

McCall’s act drew sharp condemnation around the world. Hundreds of telegrams poured into the White House each day, urging his arrest and pleading for intervention by the federal courts. Soviet diplomat Andrei Vishinsky cited McCall as proof of America’s hypocrisy in calling for human rights abroad. “Willis,” the local prosecutor reportedly told him, “you have (peed) in my whiskey.”

Source: sptimes.com

Groveland Four

Here We Go Again…Racist Pastor Rails Against ‘Colored People’ and Biracial Babies

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wbc and kkk

I applauded the letter written HERE by a “white” pastor calling for other “white” Christians to speak out for justice as he asked,

“Where is your conscience?  Where is the little light you promised to shine for Christ?  You have put it beneath a bushel and suffocated it.”

So what will you do about those INSIDE the church speaking as this pastor is from the pulpit?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX6JMLDa4iA

Sermons are often interrupted to discuss Phil Roberson and his statements about homosexuality and defending his right of speech. Sermons are often interrupted to discuss politics, as though God is a Democrat or Republican. But in my 30+ years of being in various churches, I’ve NEVER heard a “white” pastor call out racism in his own community/church body.

Never.

…and I’m not talking about the, “…and we must love everybody because God loves us whether we’re black, yellow, red, blue, we’re all brothers and sisters in Christ!”

I don’t know any red, blue or whatever color invades your mind at that time.

I’m waiting on someone to go-in the same way this guy did with his congregation, and as you see, he had no shortage of “AMEN!s” either.

Perhaps that’s why it’s not done in most pulpits today, because they might be worried if they did speak out against racism, AMENs might be hard to come by in a majority “white” congregation.

Some say that Satan’s biggest trick on mankind today is making people think he doesn’t exist.

Maybe racist are pulling the same thing on most congregations today.

I hate to inform many of you with this news, but even with “black” members in your congregation, most are still thinking about how your church feels about racial issues. They don’t forget just because they smile and say “Praise the Lord” when they shake the usher’s hand at the door.

If the Church as a whole, continues its silence and not speak out against the racism in the ranks with the same amount of fervor that it does with so many other (sometimes trivial) issues, “black” Christians will continue to wonder whether they are a brother in Christ, or a brother to the Klan like this guy.

CSD

Washington Watch Exclusive: The Parents Of Slain Florida Teen Trayvon Martin Speak Out

Posted on by Cool Pappa

I will deal with this story and issue soon. In the meantime, I wanted to post this video from Washington Watch, as it knocks down all the stereotypes that I’m sure people are looking for. Many times people will say, “Well, I’m sure something happened to make that guy act that way” or “Maybe the kid was threatening to the man”.

What saddens me the most is that my son and I were just visiting the Orlando area exactly one month ago. I gave him more freedom while we were away than I normally would at home since his other siblings were not there. My heart rate increases when I ponder on the “what-ifs” like, “What if neighborhood watch would have been following him when he was making the one-mile walk to his cousin’s house?” “What if something would have happened when he was out playing football and on his way home just before dark?”

I think I would be thinking just like Trayvon Martin’s dad said in the above video, he would have been waiting on me to protect him, and I would not have been there.

My mentor Dr. Lyn Lewis used to say something to the affect that black men grow up knowing that they are one step from jail or dead, no matter who they are or what they do in life.

I’ll echo another saying she’d say, that’s some good Sociology right there, because this Trayvon Martin murder proves her point. Good kid, good parents, smart, athlete, but still dead like a L.A. gang member.

Lets keep the heat on this story before it gets swept away by more important things like what the Duchess of Cambridge is wearing or what Peyton Manning is doing.

Photograph: Matt Dunham/AP

A Body Enslaved, But A Mind Set on Freedom: A Letter From A Former Slave To His “Master”

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In CornerstoneDad’s house, Black History Month is not in February, it is all year. There is never just a month that we watch “Martin Luther The King” videos (as we used to say in my elementary school), Eyes on the Prize or something on American slavery. Sorry, history is history and truth is truth, and those topics should not just be discussed by families with parents who descended from slaves but by ALL families and schools in America if they are truly teaching history.

So while I did not want to write anything on slavery (or MLK) this month, my wife sent me this article that desires attention. An enormous mind-map could be created from the words of this former slave.

I’d love to hear your thoughts as you read the letter that can be found here.

Parents of all people groups should share this tremendous letter with their children to (and the fact that it’s Black History Month is a good excuse if you’ve never tackled racial issues in your family before) give them insight into American slavery. It helps explain:

 

– Why descendants of slaves in America share the same last name as their slave owner. [Notice both are named Anderson?]

– American slavery’s hierarchy was NOT like biblical slavery and the slaves were not employees. [Notice that Jourdon Anderson speaks of the attempted murder on his life as if this was no big deal or common?]

– The importance that Jourdon Anderson placed on education as obviously, he was a very intelligent man himself. [So not all slaves couldn’t read, write or do arithmetic.]

– How Jourdon overcame the stigma placed on him and his family in the north as people knew they were former slaves.

– How descendants of slaves started on an uneven playing field as they left fleeing for their lives in some cases like Jourdon, they started from nothing in a new location WITH FAMILIES and were never, ever compensated fairly for the work they had done for most of their lives [after 30 years, shouldn’t Jourdon have been retiring by American standards?]

– The faith and knowledge Jourdon had that God was going to judge and was still in control as he wrote, “We trust the good Maker has opened your eyes to the wrongs which you and your fathers have done to me and my fathers, in making us toil for you for generations without recompense” and later said, “Surely there will be a day of reckoning for those who defraud the laborer of his hire.”

Galations 6:7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. – 

Ecclesiastes 12:14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

Luke 12:4-5 Do not fear those who can kill the body and afterwards have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who after He has killed has authority to cast into Hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him.

1 Timothy 1:8-11 8 We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11 that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.

(Don’t be mad at me, I didn’t say it, the Bible did…you know, we do claim to be a Christian country and all…right? “One nation, under God…”America…God shed his grace on thee…” and all those other things we learned in school…remember?)

There are many more points that could be brought up, but I’m going to ask that you chime in with a few from what you read.

To me, Joudon Anderson is a true American hero. While he will never have a county, school and other structures built in his honor like slave owners such as the Macomb’s in Michigan, he showed tremendous respect, dignity and wisdom in dealing with his former captor and deceiver.

…and you know, I have a feeling that if ole P.A. Anderson would have offered him the world financially, Mr. Jourdon Anderson still would not have returned “to his old master”.

That’s freedom to die for.

Once Again, And It’s Not Yet Black History Month! – Reason 453 for Why You May Want To Consider Homeschooling Your Kids

Posted on by Cool Pappa

Wow, another one of these assignments, so soon after the Georgia story? (See here: http://cornerstonedad.com/2012/01/10/parents-protest-at-school-over-slave-math-lesson-reason-344-for-why-you-may-want-to-consider-homeschooling-your-kids/)

What’s the workbook for teacher workshops these days, the Willie Lynch letter?

Some have rightly argued how could many African-American’s vote for Barack Obama just because he is of their same people group.

How about because many people are tired of the only thing African-Americans are known for is being a slave!

Maybe 30 years from now the assignment will be, “How did it feel to run for president and have people doubt whether you were even born in America?” Or, “Imagine being President and having other political colleagues disrespect you and the position in ways they have never done to any other before, treating you worse than one who was extremely promiscuous and of your same party?”

Well, at least in the report below, I see my high school’s slave auction doesn’t seem quite as bad now.

For those who may feel this isn’t that bad, perhaps you’re right. Maybe we as a society shouldn’t be so sensitive. Maybe next September 11, we can have some students pretend they are jumping out windows or pretend they are held by terrorists and about to get their head’s chopped off.

Yea, that’ll be cool.

Of course, we could always have our Jewish brothers and sisters pretend to starve, be infected with diseases, or how hot it would feel to be in an oven. I’m sure some kids in the class will be German so they can chip in as oppressors (or say they were just following orders).

Oh, that would be a real teaching moment for the kids.

And before you read the article below, please remember there’s no such thing as “biracial”. There aren’t two races of human beings. That’s a topic for another day.

CornerstoneDad’s, read over those school assignments!

Michigan mom slams son’s assignment on slavery

MELVINDALE, Mich. – Jessica Gibson says she won’t let her 11-year-old son complete a school assignment that she says took a lesson about slavery too far.

Gibson, 27, of Melvindale, Mich., said her sixth-grade son, Taylan, received the social studies assignment from a Strong Middle School teacher last month. But her son hid it from her, later telling her he didn’t want to do it. Gibson found out about it last week.

“He’s never had a master nor will he ever have a master, so why should he have to pretend to have a master?” Gibson said. “That really disturbed me.”

The written portion of the assignment asked students to answer five questions, which included describing what the slave area and the plantation area are like and what the owner and his family are like. It also asked students what kind of activities go on at their plantation, whether they have any friends or family at the plantation and whether anything extraordinary has happened in their lives as a slave.

A video portion of the assignment asked students to talk about the life they described in the journal, according to the assignment Gibson shared with the Free Press on Monday.

The teacher, Michelle Angileri, told the Free Press she wasn’t allowed to make any statement and directed a reporter to talk to the principal. The Free Press was unable to reach the principal or district superintendent Monday.

Taylan had been learning about slavery when he got the assignment. He said it embarrassed him.

“I’m black, and it was a slave assignment,” he said.

His mother, who is biracial, said she doesn’t think anyone should be required to complete the assignment, regardless of race.

“For him to pretend to be something he’s never been or never will be, that’s going too far,” she said.

Teaching slavery is a sensitive topic that has sparked controversy before. This month in Atlanta, teachers used slavery themes to teach math concepts, including questions such as: “If Frederick got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in one week?”

Last year, teachers in Virginia and Ohio held mock slave auctions in which they had white students auction off black students as part of lessons on the Civil War.

Gibson said she tried talking to school officials about her concerns, but didn’t receive a satisfactory solution and doesn’t want her son to get a zero for not completing the assignment.

“Find a different assignment for them to do,” she said.

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2012-01-17/michigan-assignment-slavery/52610652/1

Parents protest at school over slave math lesson – Reason 344 for Why You May Want To Consider Homeschooling Your Kids

Posted on by Cool Pappa

You know, one day I’ll do a podcast or article on some of the racist things done at some of my schools when I was growing up.

The worst by far was the Slave-Trade that my high school put on to raise money by auctioning off athletes.

Oh wait, shout out to the NFL and NBA who still do that…

But you know, I can honestly say I’ve never had to take a test like this.

Beaver Ridge Elementary parents held a protest outside their Norcross school Tuesday after a lesson on Frederick Douglass prompted third-grade teachers to use slave beatings to teach math concepts.

One of the questions on the worksheet. A school spokesperson has said the questions were "poorly written."

Channel 2 Action NewsOne of the questions on the worksheet. A school spokesperson has said the questions were “poorly written.”

Another question on the worksheet. Several parents have complained about the assignment.

Another question on the worksheet. Several parents have complained about the assignment.

School officials said that the questions stemmed from an effort to incorporate history into math lessons.

Channel 2 Action NewsSchool officials said that the questions stemmed from an effort to incorporate history into math lessons.

The protest was held as some parents of third-graders who saw the homework assignment met with the school’s principal.

About 60 parents, community activists and church leaders assembled outside the school. A few carried signs that read: “Shame on them” and “The teachers need to be fired.” Some drivers passing by the demonstration honked to show support.

Parent Christopher Braxton, who complained to the district about the slave math questions, said his son’s class was being led by a substitute teacher for the second day in a row as the investigation into the incident continues.

Braxton said Beaver Ridge Principal Jose DeJesus would not elaborate on the status of the probe or his son’s teacher.

“They apologized for the situation and said they could not speak about it further until they finish the investigation,” Braxton said.

Four of the school’s third-grade classrooms received the assignment, which made references to slaves picking oranges and filling baskets with cotton. It also included the question: “If Frederick got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in one week?”

This is the second time in two years race and ethnicity on a homework assignment sparked complaints at Gwinnett Schools. There was a similar incident in Cobb Schools last fall.

Last school year, third-graders at Gwinnett’s Chesney Elementary were given a reading homework packet that included a story titled “What Is an Illegal Alien?” The assignment, which was copied from the Internet by a new teacher, was not reviewed by the school’s subject area department chair before it was distributed. The math sheet created at Beaver Ridge also failed to undergo a content review, officials said. Under district policy, the worksheet should have been reviewed before being handed out to students, but that process was not followed.

In September, Cobb Schools came under fire for a similar incident, an assignment by a teacher at Campbell Middle School. Students were asked to write on the issue of dress codes and read a fictional two-page letter written by a 20-year-old Saudi Arabian woman. The character wrote approvingly of wearing the Islamic veil — and of her fiance’s multiple wives and the law of Sharia.

Gwinnett Schools human resources officials are investigating the Beaver Ridge incident to decide whether punitive action is necessary. District officials said they would work with math teachers to come up with more appropriate questions.

“These particular questions were an attempt at incorporating some of what students had been discussing in social studies with their math activity,” said Sloan Roach, Gwinnett Schools spokeswoman. “One teacher developed the questions, another made the copies and it was used in four classes.”

Ed DuBose, Georgia NAACP president, had a strong view: “The teachers, the staff responsible for allowing this to go forward should be fired.”

DuBose called off a press conference Tuesday and met with Gwinnett superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks.

One of the teachers involved in the incident is Hispanic, Braxton said. The district would not release the teachers’ names or races. All involved are being questioned about their role and are still employed with the district, Roach said.

School officials said the questions were not intended to be offensive and that copies of the assignment were being pulled so they wouldn’t be circulated.

Copy and paste the link to check out the video of the story:

http://www.ajc.com/news/gwinnett/parents-protest-at-school-1296640.html