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This thread is very important to me & I hope educators, especially white, take a minute to read it. My son just finished his freshman year of college. As he says, one night he was watching people tear down confederate statues & started wondering where he could go to take one down
He decided to look closer to home & emailed the superintendent of @ShenNews, admin, & the board of education. He emailed them to talk abt how when he was in 10th gr he tried to address the confederate flags in the parking lot & students wearing the confederate flag in school.
He did not feel the issue was resolved and asked for a yes or no answer on if @ShenNews allows the confederate flag on school property. TJ also included his struggles with being a Black student at @ShenNews. What followed was a string of back & forth emails between TJ & ...
the superintendent of schools & the president of the board where they NEVER acknowledged the pain TJ felt, the issues he raised, he was lectured on free speech & my Black son received a definition of implicit bias from a white man.
More than once, TJ asked for a yes or no answer on the confederate flag. It never happened. As a result, my son and daughter organized a Speak Out for BIPOC/LGBTQIA+ students that took place yesterday. Students came & spoke about their experiences.
My daughter, who has graduated from college, cried when she spoke about her experiences playing basketball at @ShenNews. @samirasangare stated, “I was the only senior who did not start senior night. My coach told me he did that bc he knew I was strong enough to take it….
They intentionally hurt me & then praised me for my high tolerance to pain- the pain they inflicted on me.” Trans students talked about being threatened. Many students talked about how alone they felt at @ShenNews.
A current student had received death threats from students. Students talked about never reading books by BIPOC/LGBTQIA+ authors. They talked about how few staff members looked like them. They cried and held each other.
They shared their confusion w the lack of action on their behalf. @TheRealTJ_12 said, “Schools spend a lot of time telling girls to cover up bc boys can’t control their ‘sexual urges’ but they won’t tell racists they cannot wear a confederate flag.”
Many people reached out to say how upsetting it was to hear the students speak. To listen to the pain and how they were not given what they needed by school. Do you know who didn’t hear? @ShenNews. Out of the 1000 educators that TJ reached out to, less than 10 came.
LESS THAN 10 EDUCATORS FROM @SHENNEWS CAME TO HEAR ABOUT THEIR BIPOC/LGBTQIA+ EXPERIENCES IN THEIR DISTRICT.
The pain those kids felt because once again, they were not heard by the district was deep. @ShenNews, what will it take for you to listen to your students? What do you need? They have done everything you asked. They have followed all your asinine protocols & you still don’t care.
Shame on @ShenNews. You were asked to listen & you refused. This will be your legacy for your students. Not the friends they made or the teachers they loved or the games they played but your indifference to their pain when they reached out to you. You have failed them.
This is the petition the brave @ShenNews students put together yesterday. These are their demands. @ShenNews thinks they can ignore the students but the students know they deserve better and they want better. http://chng.it/bgDGq2g7Ld
