black students
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A Texas Student Told to Cut His Dreadlocks If He Wants to Walk at Graduation
It’s not unusual for schools to have dress codes. I remember my school basically saying don’t wear gang insignia, baggy pants, “If you see the police, WARN A BROTHER!” shirts and things of that nature. A high school in Texas has a dress code, though, that doesn’t seem to account for black hair. CBS News…
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In 2020, We Must Demand a Black Education Agenda
As a black woman, mother and grandmother, the words I want to hear from presidential candidates on “public education” are this: How do we innovate for, build true academic progress around and save trapped black students from dysfunctional education systems? Full stop. Instead, what I’ve heard as candidates discuss education on the campaign trail—like what…
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Fifth-Grade Student Asked to Portray a Slave for Class Assignment
It’s starting to feel like schools really need to examine how they teach slavery because damn, y’all. This is the second story of this nature to break within just the last month. NBC News reports that a black fifth-grader was asked to portray a slave during a lesson on the Civil War and Reconstruction at…
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How Chicago Public School Teachers Are Fighting for Black Children’s Futures
Class was canceled for 300,000 Chicago public school students Thursday, as tens of thousands of teachers and their supporters headed to the picket line to strike for better conditions in their schools. If you haven’t been paying attention, you might assume the Chicago Teachers Union’s escalation is a matter of money—and to be sure, there…
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Mother Demands Answers and Policy Change After Her Son Was Forced to Urinate in Classroom Trash Can
Sonia Mongol, mother of an 8-year-old student at Manhattan Place Elementary in Los Angeles, says her son was forced to urinate in a trash can after his teacher refused to let him use the bathroom, urinating on himself in the process, according to NBC12. A tearful Mongol told local media that she plans to take…
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An Honor Roll Student Unknowingly Paid for His School Lunch With Counterfeit Money. His School Suspended Him for 2 Weeks
A Georgia middle school is moving forward with its suspension of a black honor roll student who unintentionally used a counterfeit $20 to pay for his lunch last week. Christian Philon, a 12-year-old Austin Road Middle School student, received the fake bill from his parents, who in turn received it as change from a fast-food…
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New York City’s Afrocentric Schools Get More Love as Segregation Increases Nationwide
As school districts across the country grapple with deepening segregation, Afrocentric schools in Brooklyn, N.Y., are drawing more interest from parents and educators alike. In a story published by the New York Times last week, reporter Eliza Shapiro spoke to the teachers, administrators, and parents of students enrolled in the “half-dozen or so” city schools…
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ACLU Files Discrimination Complaint on Behalf of Black Students in Central California
In response to claims of sustained racial abuse against the two percent of black students who attend the Visalia Unified School District, the ACLU of Northern California has filed a discrimination complaint against the district in court. The complaint, filed with the Department of Education, charges the district with violating Title VI of the Civil…
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Non-Compliant: The War Against Black Students' Hairstyles Continues
When it comes to finding low-maintenance hairstyles for our children that are school-appropriate, it’s beginning to seem we’re damned if we do, damned if we don’t. Last week, a video of a first-grader in Florida being turned away from his first day of school because of his dreadlocks sparked viral outrage and discussion; this week,…
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Black Student Wins Harvard Debate Tournament After Atlanta Students Dominate Competition
Because most people are unaware of the long history of debate in the black community, when Harvard brought 400 high schoolers to the university to compete in its prestigious debate competition, the group of black teens from Atlanta was probably considered a long shot. After all, most of the Atlanta students were inexperienced debaters. This…