'This is Klan territory': Mississippi school asks students to 'pretend' to be slaves in writing task
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I was hoping the end of Black History Month would mean the end to drive-by reinventions of Black history meant to pacify white people, but oh was I wrong. Eighth-graders at a Mississippi middle school were asked to “pretend” like they were slaves “'This is Klan territory': Mississippi school asks students to 'pretend' to be slaves in writing task
I was hoping the end of Black History Month would mean the end to drive-by reinventions of Black history meant to pacify white people, but oh was I wrong. Eighth-graders at a Mississippi middle school were asked to “pretend” like they were slaves “working on a Mississippi plantation” and write letters to “family back in Africa or in another American state describing your life” in a school assignment, according to WDAM-TV. “You may also want to tell about the family you live with/work for and how you pass your time when you aren’t working,” the assignment details. Lamar County School District Superintendent Steven Hampton told WDAM the activity was part of a Mississippi history class at Purvis Middle School. It was presented as the final slide in a PowerPoint presentation on the “atrocities and negatives of slavery,” as if there were any positives. “We do not discriminate against race. We want to be sensitive to what happened in the past,” Hampton told WDAM. Well, Dr. Hampton, you failed. Read more