Sometimes, when kids holler “discrimination,” it’s true
A Get Schooled poster doesn’t like the story in the AJC about allegations of racism in which students get suspended at Wheeler High School and why.
According to the story, a 14-year-old girl was among nine Wheeler High students who spent a weekend in the Cobb Youth Detention Center after watching two classmates fight. Some parents say the punishment was too harsh and likely racially motivated. Cobb school officials deny the allegations and say the teens did more than observe the Oct. 23 brawl.
Poster “Pompano” didn’t like the story and wrote:
Why it it that this piece of crap newspaper never passes on an opportunity to race bait here in Atlanta? Nice headline today on “Racial bias in suspensions” but no facts in the article to substantiate. Just an opportunity to give some people who want to holler discrimination their 15 minutes of fame – what a pathetic organization.
As a journalist, I often run into the complaint that we are manufacturing racism where it doesn’t exist.
I disagree. I’ve been surprised to see how virulent and vibrant racism remains. I can’t speak to the Cobb case and have no reason to doubt the district’s account of the fight. But I have covered stories where black students were treated more harshly than seemed necessary or fair.
And here’s the reason. They often come from families with less resources so they can’t marshal the troops when they get in trouble. They can’t get the judge who lives down the street to write a letter on their behalf when they get snagged with pot. They don’t come to court with their $250-an-hour private attorneys. They don’t have an uncle serving in the Legislature.
The test of any juvenile justice system should be whether we believe it would be fair to our own children. If white parents learned that their teenagers were 48 times more likely to go to juvenile prison for a first-time drug offense than black kids, the Gold Dome would literally shake with calls for reform.
Instead, the Gold Dome is silent. Because according to the research, it’s not white parents who live with this outrage. It’s black parents.
“And Justice for Some, ” a study sponsored by the U.S. Justice Department and six major research foundations, found that African-American children with no previous time in a juvenile facility are locked up at six times the rate of white kids charged with similar offenses.
Looking only at drug cases, the admission rate of black kids to juvenile detention centers is 48 times the rate for whites.
So when we talk about tougher penalties for youthful offenders, we are really talking about somebody else’s kids, not our “good” kids who just made a mistake.
Our legislators – many of whom have had kids with drug arrests – know that they can tell their children to slick down their hair, put on a clean shirt, apologize nicely to the judge and get home in time for soccer practice.
The state is embarking on a re-examination of its juvenile justice system. It has to begin with a child’s first brush with police. Each encounter with the system ought to be an opportunity to save kids rather than turn them into career criminals.
If children break the law or violate school policy, they ought to suffer consequences appropriate to the behavior. But there should not be consequences to simply being born black or Hispanic.
Folks, we can discuss this and the Wheeler story but I am tired of racist rants. It does not come from the regulars here, but the occasional posters. Please be respectful.
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57 comments Add your comment
jim d
November 4th, 2009
1:13 pm
Once again only focus on new teacher training.
Unfortunately you could train them to do what it is you want. But when they get in the real world of teaching they will almost assuredly fall under the influence of their peers and start doing things the way “THEY’VE ALWAYS BEEN DONE”
Looks like a wasted effort unless we can somehow effect the older about to retire in a few years, stuck in the mud, hate change old timers.
jim d
November 4th, 2009
1:16 pm
damn–posted that one on the wrong blog–guess i need to wake up and pay attention
jim d
November 4th, 2009
1:28 pm
“Sometimes, when kids holler “discrimination,” it’s true”
Indeed MO,
but then sometimes it’s pure HORSEFEATHERS.
Get It Right
November 4th, 2009
1:31 pm
You say, “I can’t speak to the Cobb case and have no reason to doubt the district’s account of the fight”, yet you go on to cite several statisical points to make the case that racial bias may have been in play. Gee, the district MUST be lying because more black kids are blah, blah , blah. As long as there are people pulling out the race card whenever legitimate criticisms are made against a minority person, then my first thought will be that the charge is bogus. I’ll work as hard to fight racism as the race-baiters do to combat the false charges.
Maureen Downey
November 4th, 2009
1:36 pm
Get it Right, The issue wasn’t the Cobb story, but the comment in response to it that the newspaper never fails to race bait. I think the opposite is true, that is more racism than is reported. And the inability of people to talk about it ensures that it will continue.
Maureen
Terry
November 4th, 2009
1:39 pm
Got to hand it to you mo, Always taking on the tough subjects with good responses.
Jennifer
November 4th, 2009
1:57 pm
As the education chair for the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP this is a topic that we discuss across diverse communities often and always provide reliable data and facts when we do so. This is a difficult conversation to have but one I have found more and more diverse people and organizations are willing to listen to. The biggest problem we have confronted is getting the powers that be (school boards, legislators, principals) to address the local and undeniable data without scapegoating “lack of parent involvement” or “maintaining school safety and orderly learning environments”. This is because the majority of those positions are still held by people who feel that being color blind to the issue of disparate treatment for students of color makes sense. It doesn’t and hopefully sooner rather than later we will have local and statewide leaders in elected offices who will look for solutions and not scapegoats.
No Need to Respond to Those Thick of Head
November 4th, 2009
2:11 pm
Nice, salient post, Maureen.
But there was no need for you to waste time reponding to the likes of “Get It Right.” It’s like trying to reason with a petulent child — he/she will always have an excuse, no matter how many facts you put in front of them. So sad.
Marie
November 4th, 2009
2:19 pm
Maureen, I think most of us would need to have a bit more information to determine if the school discriminated against the students. Were there offenders of other races that received proportionately lighter punishments? Similar situations in the past where punishment was non-commensurate with the punishment in this case? I understand the girls were suspended for egging on a fight so maybe we can look at past punishments to make a determination here. Racism obviously does still exist but as a retired educator, I can see how it might be frustrating to have legitimate discipline issues go un-addressed because of a fear of being called racist.
philosopher
November 4th, 2009
2:23 pm
And some folks will NEVER admit that life for minorities is still hell…aND THOSE PEOPLE WILL FOREVER BE PART OF THE PROBLEMS
There IS an elephant in the room, folks!!
November 4th, 2009
2:32 pm
And some people refuse to admit that there is little fairness or equalitiy for black people. If you admit that there is intolerable injustice out there for the poor and the minorities, you can begin to right the wrong But those who deny these facts and ignore these injustices, aid in the continuance of them….guilty, too!
philospher-
November 4th, 2009
2:36 pm
Curioser and curioser- that is the part I deleted that came out wrong….hmmm, Maureen, I think there are goblins in the system.
Maureen Downey
November 4th, 2009
2:38 pm
Philosopher,
Not sure which part of your comment is wrong. I can delete or edit a message if you let me know what you want.
Maureen.
(You can e-mail me at mdowney@ajc.com to explain what is wrong if it is too complicated to do it here.)
DeKalb Conservative
November 4th, 2009
3:02 pm
This conservative is taking off the gloves on this one… Let’s ask some questions.
Quote: “African-American children with no previous time in a juvenile facility are locked up at six times the rate of white kids charged with similar offenses.”
Q: Is that because of racial bias?
Q: What is the age of the first offense of African-American children versus White-American (hyphenated added) children?
Quote: “Looking only at drug cases, the admission rate of black kids to juvenile detention centers is 48 times the rate for whites.”
Q: How do you define “adminission?” Is it self-admitted, court-required, etc
Q: What classification of drugs are leading to these admissions?
Quote: “Our legislators – many of whom have had kids with drug arrests – know that they can tell their children to slick down their hair, put on a clean shirt, apologize nicely to the judge and get home in time for soccer practice.”
Q: Can other kids, regardless of race, slick down their hair, put on a clean shirt and apologize nicely?
DeKalb Conservative
November 4th, 2009
3:07 pm
Probably not phrasing this the best way, but how come you never hear stories about black women clutching their purses or locking their cars when they see a group of teenage, or 20-something white males?
Racism will always be part of our society
November 4th, 2009
3:13 pm
People like DeKalb Conservatives will keep the racism in this country alive and well for YEARS to come…
DeKalb Conservative
November 4th, 2009
3:21 pm
@ Maureen
I obviously has some disagreements with you on this story, but I commend you for responding to the comment about the AJC race baiting. Headlines are a marketing tactic that can be written alot of different ways.
I think the harsh reaction of alot of right leaning people, not about this story, but about a bias of the AJC in general seems to be around fast conclusions that some disparity is always linked to an action. Obviously off topic, but the Jena 6 is a good example, that will likely be used for years.
In that case, and other cases, including cases of two different racial groups in Atlanta, why point the finger of race? By doing that, it too often detracts from the crime or incident itself.
You quoted “there should not be consequences to simply being born black or Hispanic.” This is true and any civilized person will agree. That said there are people out there of all races that do bad things. I think its the media’s job to report when racial bias from any prospective has occurred. Equally it is the media’s job to only report a racial bias when there is sufficient evidence to support such a claim, not just the color of skin by each of the parties.
I’m not a connected person in Atlanta, many people that are transplants are not either. I think it is insulting to imply that white people all have connections and they can just slap on a nice shirt, do their hair and apologize and get off. I make the assumption you are implying they are also facing a white judge. I know in Atlanta versus Massachusetts the chances of me being in a court room with a black judge, or a heavily-weighted black jury is tremendous.
There is so much complexity to this topic of how 1) crimes occur 2) frequency of crimes caught 3) how they are prosecuted and 4) how the media reports them.
DeKalb Conservative
November 4th, 2009
3:23 pm
@ Racism will always be part of our society
That’s a BIG accusation to connect me with racism. What part of my comment was racist?
majii
November 4th, 2009
3:25 pm
Dekalb Conservative—Congressman Paul Broun (R-GA) has an 18 year old son who was arrested in the spring of this year when police in Athens were called to investigate a noise complaint. They arrested him for possession of marijuana and underage drinking. Not another word has been said about whether this kid will stand trial. Nothing has been made public as to what will happen to him. Maureen has a point when she mentioned the role that appearance, letters from high-profile individuals, and an attorney hired by the family can play in the outcome of a juvenile/other court case.
What she states is the reality of what occurs in most cases involving minority students. I taught school for 33 years until the end of this school year, and I can say without a doubt that when a child commits a serious offense in school, that child has a better chance of being viewed more favorably is he/she is white and has parents who are high profile members of the community. The difference is the same for some minority students who have high profile parents, unfortunately most of them do not. I’ve witnessed the difference in the disciplining of athletes and non-athletes, honor students and average students, student council members and students who are not members of any club, etc. Whether one believes or accepts it or not is not the issue. The issue is one of across the board fairness, irrespective of race/ethnicity/other factors.
Terry
November 4th, 2009
3:28 pm
majii – great post. I am heartened when an educator can state the truth.
majii
November 4th, 2009
3:35 pm
DK–Many of us do. We just tend to not make an issue of it. I’m always hesitant to get in elevators alone with white men. I don’t hate them. I’m very cautious, mainly due to the racial climate that has, in one way or another, prevailed in GA, over time. I’m more careful now because of the racism I see expressed so overtly in this state at the present time. I’m not going to harm anyone, but I am going to avoid situations where harm may come to myself, even if I’ve done nothing.
DeKalb Conservative
November 4th, 2009
4:24 pm
@ majii
You raised a good point about Congressman Paul Broun’s son. That said, you also raised a good point from personal experiences, specifically that class (high profile parents) seem to play a greater role than race.
The system itself should be free of bias, especially in an area, such as Atlanta, where there is no shortage of minorities are holding judge positions and therefore sentencing other minorities. Therefore one must assume the ability to defend yourself is not equal and tied to class (or another trait) with the appearance it is tied to race. Since a white person in general has a higher chance of holding a higher class position, cases such as Broun’s will likely get passed along because of resources dedicated to the defense.
Bad example, but relevant for this discussion,–ask yourself, ‘do hats make men bald, or do bald men wear hats?’ The causal relationship isn’t necessarily race, but other deciding factors and traits, and affiliations such as class.
lets call a spade a spade
November 4th, 2009
6:40 pm
The achievement gap, out of wedlock births, incarceration rates, home foreclosures AND black on black crime. That pesky 2000 pound elephant in the living room just won’t go away will he? Now awaiting libs with their calls of “raciss!” 5,4,3,2,1…
FYI
November 4th, 2009
7:08 pm
These kids standing around watching this fight were committing a crime by doing so – by watching and encouraging, not only do they get suspended per Cobb County regulations, but that makes them an accessory to battery. They were filming on cell phones and cheering it on. They ran from the cops. They were out of area, and they were skipping class.
What part of that is racist? They were doing something that was wrong, and something that was illegal. How in the world do you protest that? Every student out there was African American, so how can the equal punishment given to all of those students be an accurate representation of racism when there’s nothing to compare it with? It’s not like a couple Hispanic kids and white kids were out there too and they got ISS while the rest got 2 weeks OSS.
If you keep calling everything racist that isn’t, when someone really DOES do something that can be classified as such, well… no one will care. That card and that phrase is overused. These parents just should play the “my child’s never done anything wrong!” card instead. Frankly, it concerns me that the parents aren’t seeing something wrong with what their child did. I certainly wouldn’t want my child out there encouraging the beat down of another student – maybe a night or two in the pokie would scare them a little straight.
williev
November 4th, 2009
7:40 pm
I am not getting into this debate. I recommend all of you request suspenion and expulsion data from the Georgia Department of Education. You will be totally surprised at the rate of suspension and expulsion of African-American students compared to white students. Racism?????
williev
November 4th, 2009
7:43 pm
Racism????? If not, a whole host of people do not know how to work with African-American students, especially young men.
philosopher-
November 4th, 2009
7:47 pm
So stands the elephant! And he has a big fat R on his side- (racism) It’s really about being afraid of people different from ourselves (or afraid that we might become like them) and consider ourselves a community. Everyone knows it is in the best interest of the community to work to make it healthy. And just like an alcoholic, the community can’t start the process of doing what it takes to be healthy until it admits to having a problem. We have a big problem.
Lee
November 4th, 2009
7:53 pm
Let’s see, it hasn’t been but about 3-4 weeks ago that the video of the school bus assault by a black student on a white student was making it’s rounds. I seem to recall also all those black students encouraging the perpetrator to continue his assault. Most of you on this blog were making comments that something should be done to those who actively encourage these fights.
Now, we have Cobb actually do something about that very same thing, and we have the politically correct lamenting about the number of blacks being disciplined, incarcerated, etc, etc.
You can’t have it both ways, folks…
philosopher-
November 4th, 2009
8:16 pm
@ Lee: The deal is, we are asking for equal and fair repurcussions for the same behaviors REGARDLESS of race…it just doesn’t happen!
Tired of This
November 4th, 2009
8:27 pm
@williev – and some African-American youths don’t know how to respect authority – adults in their lives have done them some disservice but convincing them (or sadly showing them by their actions) that adults, whether they are strangers, teachers, or cops don’t have to be respected. That’s a part of the equation, too – how can you deny it when Chris Rock is doing parodies like “How to Not Get Your @$$ Kicked by the Police” with tips like “Obey the Law” and “Be Polite.”
I’m not going to deny that their is racism – institutional or otherwise. But many of you on here need to realize that this is more of a class thing than a race thing – much of the attitude comes from folks being raised in generational poverty – it’s a whole different mindset, and it’s not color-specific. I would love to see someone look at the data through income, not color – I think you would find more a connection to the socio-economics of a student than the color. Fact of the matter is that while a larger percentage of blacks are in poverty, an overall higher number of whites are, and in an largely all white area (like upstate New Hampshire, for example), you’re likely going to find disciplinary rates for poor whites mirroring that of poor blacks here. It’s the Jerry Springer mentality of generational poverty, not color, and I’ll admit that most middle class folks who become teachers DON’T have much experience with it from students of ANY color.
Tired of This
November 4th, 2009
8:44 pm
There – not “their” – typo, not grammatical error (before the grammar nazis get me) – mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
ScienceTeacher671
November 4th, 2009
9:25 pm
Is there a difference in suspension rates for minority students where (1) the majority of the students are of the same minority and/or (2) the majority of the administrators are also of that minority?
Tired of This
November 4th, 2009
9:40 pm
@ScienceTeacher671- you also ask very good questions! I would also want to look at the racial make-up of the staff as well as the student body. Has anyone looked at the data that way? How would you explain a majority-minority school with a majority-minority staff that has a higher incidence of discipline referrals that a school with a more diverse staff or student body – do schools with that type of data exist (I think they do). Are there schools with a homogeneously ethnic but diversely socio-economic populations? What do their discipline data show? I’m not denying that there may be a problem, but I don’t think the data has been analyzed enough (and as someone rightly pointed out, correlation does not imply causation).
philosopher-
November 4th, 2009
10:33 pm
Tired of This – Study the elephant from any angle you like…some angles make it look bigger and some allow you to barely see it…but guess what?…It’s staill a very big elephant!
philosopher-
November 4th, 2009
10:34 pm
Still-
FED UP!!!
November 4th, 2009
10:50 pm
You know, I tried to let this one go, but I really take offense when the fact that more discipline issues tend to be for black children gets chalked up as racist. To bring this down to a personal level (perhaps wrongly so; I realize that anecdotal evidence oftentimes points to the exception), I teach four classes right now. Until this year, I rarely wrote disciplinary referrals. This year I feel as though I have written a lifetime’s worth. And the vast majority of them are for black students. Does that make me racist? Does it make me racist that (some, and very few of) the black students simply won’t listen to me? That they mouth off routinely? That they harass one another and that I am legally bound to report it when I witness it? Does it make me racist that I can tell a white student to sit down and he or she will, for the most part, listen, but some of the students for whom I have written referrals simply won’t listen at all?
So the overwhelming majority of the disciplinary issues that I have had this year have come from the same (small) group of black students. And yes, for the same violations I have written up white students; the fact is that the white students that I happen to teach this year happen to not give me the same disciplinary issues with the same frequency. So, does that mean that I am a racist? If the students I had written up thus far were all brunettes would I be a Nazi? I am pretty sure the majority of them are all right-handed. Am I prejudiced against right-handed people?
This kind of blanket blaming infuriates me.
As many posters have said before me, until we compare the same infringements and look at the disparate treatment the students get, it is nonsense to “chalk it up” to racism. Let’s look for a pattern of identical violations and see if there is a systematic favoring of the white kids.
Until then, I remain…
FED UP.
Tired of This
November 4th, 2009
11:38 pm
Philosopher – I’m not trying to manipulate the elephant – I’m trying to point out that correlation does not imply causation, and that it may not be more minorities getting infractions as much as it is more poor kids getting infractions – here in the south more of those poor kids happen to be minorities so race becomes a factor. I point this out because I think it’s important to realize that race may not be the main problem, but simply the most visible one (and here in the “city too busy to hate” it seems to be what everyone wants to jump on first.
My personal experience with this is merely anecdotal, however I grew up in the shabbier side of town up north (rural NH, as I suggested in my first post). The town was mostly white. The few minority kids we had (a couple African American families, some Vietnamese refugees, and kids from Puerto Rico) were never in trouble. The kids from my end of town ended up getting in more trouble – they had a tendency to flaunt authority. They would often complain that they were treated more unfairly when caught than kids from the other side of town.
Lee
November 5th, 2009
12:12 am
Good grief…
I am getting tired of blacks and the politically correct pathogenic whites crying racism every time a black kid gets into trouble. They will not be happy until they get some type of “affirmative action quota” for discipline – you know, if a school is 30% black, then they will only allow 30% suspension rate for black students.
Let me know how that works out for you.
The do-gooder’s time would be better spend addressing the culture that spawns a 75% illegitimacy rate for blacks, the culture that disregards rules because they are “white man’s rules,” the culture that disparages studying and obeying the rules as “acting white.”
Nah. It’s easier to cry racism.
hawk teach
November 5th, 2009
7:56 am
I have taught for 8 years and have written up 10 kids. Out of those 10 kids 9 of them were boys. I guess I’m sexist.
hawk teach
November 5th, 2009
7:57 am
Or…… Maybe boys just misbehave more than girls.
hawk teach
November 5th, 2009
8:04 am
I have taught for 8 years. In those 8 years I have written up about 10 students. Of those ten students 9 have been boys. I guess I am a sexist???????
Or……. Maybe boys just misbehave more than girls.
philosopher-
November 5th, 2009
8:21 am
Lee- I’m sure from your white, privileged, luxury-laden, all-paths-open-to-you world, it’s easy to judge and to deny…but I’d bet a year’s worth of my very good salary that if you were forced to survive in a chronically impoverished, all doors slammed, minority’s world and had to face the kind of racism you dish out, you’d be singing loud and clear…a very different song!
Jennifer
November 5th, 2009
9:00 am
Lee,
I challenge you to visit your county alternative education facility 3-4 times and just watch the students going into the building. Then go research the data on that school. Get a hold of documentation on the offenses that the majority of students are in there for. Then look at the quality of education stats coming out of that facility. You will find none most likely. Then come back and tell the group that systemic and institutional racism does not exist. You won’t be able to. Because you will see that in your day, the behavior you exhibited in school is no different than what most kids today are doing – and yet their educational opportunity is denied – and the kids are almost exclusively students of color. Oh – except for the drug and weapon offenses, in our small pilot study of three clusters in our county those were mostly attributed to Caucasian students.
I do not know your race, but I can assure you regardless of your race if you do what I will say then your eyes may open just a little bit. So instead of pulling out the white privilege card – go see what racism for kids really looks like first.
lets call a spade a spade
November 5th, 2009
9:52 am
@Jennifer
I have done what you are asking. In our district, majority black, the teachers and administrators are also majority black! Yet the majority of kids in alternative education in my town are black. Please explain to me how this can be construed as racism as it is black teachers writing these kids up, black administrators sending these kids to tribunal, and a majority black school board that has signed off on my county’s discipline plan??? I’m like Lee; the sting of the word “raciss” is no longer effective.
philosopher-
November 5th, 2009
10:37 am
hawk teach ..Girls misbehave at least as much as boys…they’re just smarter about it and sneakier and underhanded!
Amazed in GA
November 5th, 2009
12:32 pm
@FED UP!!
Do you think the African American children can sense that you do not like them and that is why they are less likely to listen to you?
amazed at amazed in GA
November 5th, 2009
12:37 pm
so let me get this straight…if an African-American kid “senses” that i don’t like them (esp maybe) thats an excuse to act up and not follow reasonable instructions??? no wonder that pesky achievement gap aint going anywhere anytime soon!
lets call a spade a spade
November 5th, 2009
9:47 pm
let me close this out with white people did this because white people blah blah white people try to hold down black people because white white blah blah white people racisist because they racist blah blah white people.
Jennifer
November 5th, 2009
11:12 pm
Spade -
The color of your skin does not exempt you from bias, discrimination, and racism. In fact, if I remember correctly, in Georgia, there is research which suggests that Black administrators are actually even tougher on black students than their white counterparts. What you would need to do in the scenario you describe is to see if the punishments are harsher at that school than for the same offense at an all white school, regardless of the color of the administrator’s skin. I think you will find that it is.
Chris
November 6th, 2009
12:05 am
Girls going to YDC instigating the fight. Sounds like girls were fighting not boys. Wheeler is a very diverse school with African-Americans, Mixed, Caucasian and Hispanics (many Brazilians). The fight was in an area where there are not classrooms or teachers. Teachers don’t even eat lunch in the lunchroom. Gang related, I doubt it. Come down on them hard while they are juveniles, maybe it will keep them out of prison. We don’t need further studies, we need common sense and discipline at school.
Lee
November 6th, 2009
7:23 am
Wow, Jennifer and Philosopher both break out the “white privilege” card. What is that?
Oh yeah. Since the cries of racism has been overused to the point that no one listens anymore, anytime that a minority does something that causes them to be thought of in a negative manner, it must be because the whites have some inate advantage. Hence:
A white kid works hard, studies, and goes on to enroll in college. Black kid doesn’t do assignments and spends most of his afternoons hanging out on the corner and does not get into college. White privilege.
White kid obeys the rules and acts appropriately. Black kid disobeys the rules, disrupts the class, and gets into trouble. White privilege.
As long as the politically correct keep making excuses for minorities, they will never correct their SELF-IMPOSED behavior.
A. W.
November 7th, 2009
6:09 pm
As an African American who attended Wheeler High School, I do have to say that I’ve been the victim of racism from teachers, staff and administrators at the school at various times during my tenure. It wasn’t imagined. And it had nothing to do with my socioeconomic background or any other aspects of my upbringing – both of my parents are well-paid and college-educated (my mom has a PhD). I had no criminal record, no disciplinary action, I was an honor roll student at the school AND I graduated from high school in 3 years at the age of 16. So… I guess that makes me an anomaly? And my friends too? And that’s why we were targeted? Or… is it that Wheeler High School isn’t immune to racism? Hmm… imagine that!
I find it interesting that every time someone points out discrepancies in treatment, the automatic response from some is “you’re playing the race card.” And then we have people posting ignorant, incorrect statistics like “75% of black people can’t read” (Lee, please go to school). The reality is that there are certain people who have the luxury of looking at the world through rose-colored glasses, and who are able to assume that every time someone makes a claim of racism it’s automatically false/imagined. Then there are the rest of us – people like Clarence Harrison, Robert Clark, Pete Williams and John White. If you don’t recognize their names, Google Georgia Innocence Project – these are all African American men wrongly convicted of crimes they didn’t commit, who spent a total of more than 100 years of their lives in prison. The majority of people freed through the Innocence Project are African Americans. Why? Probably because people with the objectivity of some of you were originally in the jury stands – convicting innocent people, claiming their cries of mistreatment and/or racism were imagined and they were guilty, because African Americans are “illiterate” (Lee), spend most of their time hanging on the corner (Lee), don’t respect authority (Tired of This), etc. The reality is that when you have ignorant preconceived notions of different races, those biases automatically cloud your judgment in any situation. And then you have incidents where people are treated differently because of their race. And thus begins the cycle of racism…
A. W.
November 7th, 2009
6:11 pm
As an African American who attended Wheeler High School, I do have to say that I’ve been the victim of racism from teachers, staff and administrators at the school at various times during my tenure. It wasn’t imagined. And it had nothing to do with my socioeconomic background or any other aspects of my upbringing – both of my parents are well-paid and college-educated (my mom has a PhD). I had no criminal record, no disciplinary action, I was an honor roll student at the school AND I graduated from high school in 3 years at the age of 16. So… I guess that makes me an anomaly? And my friends too? And that’s why we were targeted? Or… is it that Wheeler High School isn’t immune to racism? Hmm… imagine that!
I find it interesting that every time someone points out discrepancies in treatment, the automatic response from some is “you’re playing the race card.” And then we have people posting ignorant, incorrect statistics like “75% of black people can’t read” (Lee, please go to school). The reality is that there are certain people who have the luxury of looking at the world through rose-colored glasses, and who are able to assume that every time someone makes a claim of racism it’s automatically false/imagined. Then there are the rest of us – people like Clarence Harrison, Robert Clark, Pete Williams and John White. If you don’t recognize their names, Google Georgia Innocence Project – these are all African American men wrongly convicted of crimes they didn’t commit, who spent a total of more than 100 years of their lives in prison. The majority of people freed through the Innocence Project are African Americans. Why? Probably because people with the objectivity of some of you were originally in the jury stands – convicting innocent people, claiming their cries of mistreatment and/or racism were imagined and they were guilty, because African Americans are “illiterate” (Lee), spend most of their time hanging on the corner (Lee), don’t respect authority (Tired of This), etc. The reality is that when you have ignorant preconceived notions of different races, those biases automatically cloud your judgment in any situation. And then you have incidents where people are treated differently because of their race. Thus begins the cycle of racism…
A.W.
November 7th, 2009
6:17 pm
As an African American who attended Wheeler High School, I do have to say that I’ve been the victim of racism from teachers, staff and administrators at the school at various times during my tenure. It wasn’t imagined. And it had nothing to do with my socioeconomic background or any other aspects of my upbringing – both of my parents are well-paid and college-educated (my mom has a PhD). I had no criminal record, no disciplinary action, I was an honor roll student at the school AND I graduated from high school in 3 years at the age of 16. So… I guess that makes me an anomaly? And my friends too? And that’s why we were targeted? Or… is it that Wheeler High School isn’t immune to racism? Hmm… imagine that!
I find it interesting that every time someone points out discrepancies in treatment, the automatic response from some is “you’re playing the race card.” And then we have people posting ignorant, incorrect statistics like “75% of black people can’t read” (Lee, please go to school). The reality is that there are certain people who have the luxury of looking at the world through rose-colored glasses, and who are able to assume that every time someone makes a claim of racism it’s automatically false/imagined. Then there are the rest of us – people like Clarence Harrison, Robert Clark, Pete Williams and John White. If you don’t recognize their names, Google Georgia Innocence Project – these are all African American men wrongly convicted of crimes they didn’t commit, who spent a total of more than 100 years of their lives in prison. The majority of people freed through the Innocence Project are African Americans. Why? Probably because people with the objectivity of some of you were originally in the jury stands – convicting innocent people, claiming their cries of mistreatment and/or racism were imagined and they were guilty, because African Americans are “illiterate” (Lee), spend most of their time hanging on the corner (Lee), don’t respect authority (Tired of This), etc. The reality is that when you have ignorant preconceived notions of different races, those biases automatically cloud your judgment in any situation. And then you have incidents where people are treated differently because of their race. That’s how racism starts…
lets call a spade a spade
November 8th, 2009
9:51 pm
“The reality is that there are certain people who have the luxury of looking at the world through rose-colored glasses…”
More white skin privilege crapola. Cry me a river A.W.!
Make it better
November 11th, 2009
7:19 pm
How do you make it better for all students? The truth is that African-American students are hurt the most by an unsafe school environment, where students disrupt classes and menace other kids. These were high school kids that knew a fight is against the law and knew what they were doing was wrong. Racism is real, but it won’t be defeated by making excuses for criminals. The mother of that14 year old girl has got to be terrified that her daughter thinks crowding around watching a crime is an okay thing to do. That is what will destroy her daughter, not what some white administrator thinks or a couple of days in detention.
My view
November 17th, 2009
9:31 pm
I just can’t get over the the self righteousness of each “side” of this arguement. At what point does right or wrong become a matter of race or skin color. It would seem to me that if a white man helped me change a tire on a back road, that I would be thankful, regardless. I it was a black man or an hispanic man, I would feel the same. I just can’t get past people understanding that prejudice is something that we all have in our lives, both ways. Deny it, and I’ll ask you why you liked the the color of your shirt this morning as opposed to the other one….because you feel better in that one, or it fits me better…whatever the reason is, it doesn’t make sense neccessarily to another person. I’m going to pray for all of you folks who just have to justify your own cause with all this stuff in people. If someone doesn something good or bad, it just can’t be what it is?…If you screw up, just admit it and go on..like we’ve not done the same thing. Sometimes we’re so proud of what we believe and our “position statement” that we’re right, that we’ve lost the ability to understand that God has His laws wrttien in our heart. We know right from wrong. When I hear this crap, it just makes think how far both races (black and white) have succummed to the
idea that I have to be right, rather than understanding that we’re all wrong…The sooner we all admit that we’re all a bunch of screw ups, the more we can see the other side of the coin…racism…absolutely.. both ways and all ways. Let’s get over ourselves and really love people by how they treat their neighbor. Dr. King spoke of “judging a man by the content of his character”, but Ihave yet to see any of you folks (all of you) where you really live this out. You may judge a man one way or the other, but you also better understand that when you judge, you will be held to the same standards. There will come a day when we will have to account for the poison that we’ve mixed up….both sides. Get over your pride and contempt…..You should all be ashamed…if you can’t understand what I’ve said, then just go on your own way and don’t sweat it, you’ve missed the point anyway…that’s what Jesus does. Those that are hard of heart…well, you don’t get get it, we’ll hope one day that God can reveal in you the hatred and sin of this pride…Until then we’ll have to lean on those who “got it”.