racism in schools
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Dear, Teacher: How Does It Feel to Be an Oppressor?
The New York Daily News reported Feb. 1—the start of Black History Month—that a teacher in a majority-minority school in the Bronx, N.Y., instructed three black children in her seventh-grade class to lie on the floor during a lesson on slavery. Then she stepped on the students’ backs, allegedly to show them “how it feels…
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‘See How It Feels to Be a Slave?’: NYC Teacher Steps on Student’s Back to Simulate Horrors of Slavery
For the students at Middle School 118 in New York City’s Bronx borough, it was an immersive lesson gone way too far. Teacher Patricia Cummings is catching heat from students and parents after a social studies lesson she delivered about the Middle Passage—one that involved her stepping on her students’ backs. The New York Daily…
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Oregon State Student Government Rep Facing Hate Crime Charges in Placement of Racist Bumper Stickers on Cars
An Oregon State University student government representative is facing felony hate crime charges after he allegedly put racist bumper stickers—that included a racial slur—on cars in Corvallis, Ore., last year. Andrew Oswalt, a 27-year-old chemistry doctoral student, was indicted Tuesday on four criminal counts, including two counts of criminal mischief and two counts of intimidation,…
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Black Student Enrollment Lagging in Many of the South’s Premier College Campuses: Report
A new report reveals major disparities between the rate of black high school graduates and the rate of black students enrolled at flagship state institutions. Among the findings: Nine of the 10 states with the biggest gaps were found in the South. The Hechinger Report released an interactive look Monday at how many black and…
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We Need to Talk About How Schools Handle Racist Harassment Against Students
Just how many times must a student tell you that your school has a race problem before you believe her? Earlier this month, a senior at Elk Grove High School came forward to the Sacramento Bee about experiencing repeated racial harassment at her high school. The school had recently garnered national attention because one of…
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Virginia Lawmakers Want to Dismantle Their ‘School-to-Prison Pipeline’
One of Virginia’s newest state delegates is working on a series of bills that would disrupt the “school-to-prison pipeline” in a state that recently led the country in referring students to the legal system. The Washington Post used the example of Ryan Turk, an eighth-grader from Prince William County, to illustrate the severity of Virginia’s problems.…
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Ohio Teacher Keeps Job After Telling Black Student Classmates Would ‘Lynch’ Him if He Didn’t Behave
Renee Thole, a middle school social studies teacher who told a 13-year-old black student that he would be lynched if he didn’t behave, will not be suspended or fired. According to Cincinnati.com, Thole, who teaches at Mason Middle School in Mason, Ohio, made the comment in December. Thole submitted a statement during the district’s investigation…