School outing proves divisive - Black only field trip

[Linflas]

So as long as your intentions were noble and you pick the right people to exclude why should anyone be upset? Would white/hispanic/asian kids be unimpressed by a black rocket scientist?

A school trip for African-Americans pupils only at an Ann Arbor elementary school last week was meant to inspire them to greater achievement, but instead ignited protest from other children and their parents.

The 25 Dicken Elementary School students were taken to a talk by a rocket scientist. They were members of the "African American Lunch Bunch," a club started by teachers and administrators to improve their test scores.

Story here

 

[Red Dawn]

So as long as your intentions were noble and you pick the right people to exclude why should anyone be upset? Would white/hispanic/asian kids be unimpressed by a black rocket scientist?




Story here

If those of other races were denied membership to the club then it's a major problem. The fact that there's School clubs based on race, especially in elementary school is also wrong

 

[waggy]

So as long as your intentions were noble and you pick the right people to exclude why should anyone be upset? Would white/hispanic/asian kids be unimpressed by a black rocket scientist?




Story here

im surprised that there is so little coverage on this. No school should be sponsoring a club that is based on race.

 

[rudder]

Could the principal not used the AFRICAN AMERICAN PRESIDENT as an inspiration?

It does not matter if his intentions were noble or not. He could have approached it in a totally different way. He could have easily provided two field trips that day and let the students decide which one they wanted to go to. Doing what he did is wrong from both angles. This action tells the black students that they are not as successful as the white kids and it shows the white kids it is okay to exclude members of a different race.

 

[cubeless]

im surprised that there is so little coverage on this. No school should be sponsoring a club that is based on race.

you're joking, right? i agree there probably shouldn't be, but practically every school in the us has these...

 

[waggy]

you're joking, right? i agree there probably shouldn't be, but practically every school in the us has these...

and that makes it right? my personal feeling is with such segregation we are never going to get over race. Yes i understand why some want it.

i don't think we as a nation, society and world are ever going to achieve what we are capable of when we worry about having a black/brown/whatever sitting next to us.

 

[Tristicus]

Don't see how this is any different than black only scholarships and such. It's all a bunch of bullshit.

 

[cubeless]

and that makes it right? my personal feeling is with such segregation we are never going to get over race. Yes i understand why some want it.

i don't think we as a nation, society and world are ever going to achieve what we are capable of when we worry about having a black/brown/whatever sitting next to us.

the same liberal social scientists who've done such a great job with the rest of the curriculum at the schools are the ones who push this stuff so that students can interact in groups where they can feel comfortable with their group, and explore in a non-threatening environment...

 

[Exterous]

It's not racists if it's black only. It's only racist if it's white only

Don't see how this is any different than black only scholarships and such. It's all a bunch of bullshit.

Seriously! Not that they call them 'Black' scholarships - which can be really confusing to recent immigrants. I had a friend from South Africa who was white. He applied for one of these and it had an interview process. He figured he might need to prove he was from Africa so he brought his papers as proof. They told them 'There must be a mistake, this is for African Americans only' He said there was no mistake and showed them his papers. They still denied him the scholarship even though the invitation to the meeting said it was 'only a formality' since he possesed all the qualities they were looking for....

 

[StageLeft]

If those of other races were denied membership to the club then it's a major problem. The fact that there's School clubs based on race, especially in elementary school is also wrong

Of course they are denied membership. If not by technical rule then by environment. The club is not called "All races lunch bunch". Do you think an asian would feel welcome in the "Whites Lunch Bunch"?

Seriously! Not that they call them 'Black' scholarships - which can be really confusing to recent immigrants. I had a friend from South Africa who was white. He applied for one of these and it had an interview process. He figured he might need to prove he was from Africa so he brought his papers as proof. They told them 'There must be a mistake, this is for African Americans only' He said there was no mistake and showed them his papers. They still denied him the scholarship even though the invitation to the meeting said it was 'only a formality' since he possesed all the qualities they were looking for....

What was their reason for denial? This is why i don't use the term african american. It's a euphemism and with many euphemisms dilutes the accuracy of what one is trying to get across. When I refer to somebody as Black it's their color I am talking about, not where they maybe came from and maybe didn't.

 

[Exterous]

What was their reason for denial?

IIRC it was something along the lines of 'We are a private scholarship and we reserve the right to decline any applicant for any reason' but wasn't more concrete than that. I told him to push the issue but he wouldn't - which is the big part of the issue IMO -> A lot of people dont want to push the issue for fear of being labeled racist

 

[Schadenfroh]

I had a friend from South Africa who was white. He applied for one of these and it had an interview process. He figured he might need to prove he was from Africa so he brought his papers as proof. They told them 'There must be a mistake, this is for African Americans only' He said there was no mistake and showed them his papers. They still denied him the scholarship even though the invitation to the meeting said it was 'only a formality' since he possesed all the qualities they were looking for...

Oh man, this kinda reminds me of the story my mother told me about her being denied a part-time job in college because the manager said "The Kitchen is too hot for white girls." Gotta love the double-standard.

Interesting, this thread lacks the same level of outrage that was experienced in that other thread a while back when a group of students tried to start a separate sports team for white people (outside of school) and the other thread where a school had a separate prom for white people (sponsored by their parents).

 

[Linflas]

It's not racists if it's black only. It's only racist if it's white only



Seriously! Not that they call them 'Black' scholarships - which can be really confusing to recent immigrants. I had a friend from South Africa who was white. He applied for one of these and it had an interview process. He figured he might need to prove he was from Africa so he brought his papers as proof. They told them 'There must be a mistake, this is for African Americans only' He said there was no mistake and showed them his papers. They still denied him the scholarship even though the invitation to the meeting said it was 'only a formality' since he possesed all the qualities they were looking for....

Kind of like Congress? Black Caucus: Whites Not Allowed

As a white liberal running in a majority African American district, Tennessee Democrat Stephen I. Cohen made a novel pledge on the campaign trail last year: If elected, he would seek to become the first white member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Now that he's a freshman in Congress, Cohen has changed his plans. He said he has dropped his bid after several current and former caucus members made it clear to him that whites need not apply.

 

[yllus]

im surprised that there is so little coverage on this. No school should be sponsoring a club that is based on race.

What's the definition of "sponsor"?

There were Korean-centric clubs where I attended high school. African-centric clubs too, come to think of it. (Though the Africa bit is a misnomer.) Also your various religious clubs and gender clubs.

Nobody had a problem with any of them. But I suppose none were using school money for trips or stuff like that - all the school lent was space and maybe paper and markers and crap like that.

 

[palehorse]

It's not racists if it's black only. It's only racist if it's white only

Can you imagine a group called "White American Lunch Bunch"?! Holy shit, that would set off alarms all over the country! People would go batshit insane over such a thing!

Or, even worse, White Entertainment Television (WET)... or a magazine named Ivory...

No fucking chance. But hey, such is life in America these days. Racism is a one-way street and there is such a thing as "acceptable hypocrisy." Sad but true.

/shrug

For lawls:
http://www.monkeyspit.net/sites/ivory/

 

[spidey07]

So where is Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson?