• Daily Illinois
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • DMCA
  • Sitemap
  • Write For Us
Sunday, May 22, 2022
Daily illinois - USA | News, Sports & Updates Web Magazine
  • Covid-19
  • News
    • All
    • Business
    • Education
    • Politics
    • Sports
    • World
    Deadly thunderstorm complex cuts power to nearly a million in Canada

    Deadly thunderstorm complex cuts power to nearly a million in Canada

    David Smith of CDOT

    How does the city decide where to put new bike lanes?

    2 Recession Stocks to Buy Right Now

    2 Recession Stocks to Buy Right Now

    Chicago McDonald's shooting: Jaylun Sanders, Kameron Abram charged after 9 shot, 2 fatally, on Near North Side, police say

    Chicago McDonald’s shooting: Jaylun Sanders, Kameron Abram charged after 9 shot, 2 fatally, on Near North Side, police say

    The 10 Best VPNs for Your Business on Sale

    The 10 Best VPNs for Your Business on Sale

    U.S. Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, salutes during the U.S. Military Academy's Class of 2022 graduation ceremony at West Point, New York, May 21, 2022.

    Gen. Milley warns West Point graduates of ‘increasing’ risk of global war, ‘robotic tanks’

    Soccer player Megan Rapinoe waves to the crowd during the second quarter of a WNBA basketball game between the Minnesota Lynx and the Seattle Storm on on May 6, 2022, in Seattle.

    US Soccer Equalizes Pay In Milestone With Women, Men

    This image provided by Steven Bischer, shows an upended vehicle following an apparent tornado, Friday, May 20, 2022, in Gaylord, Mich.

    At least 2 dead, 40 injured

    WHO mulls monkeypox guidance amid spread

    WHO mulls monkeypox guidance amid spread

    Business Trends Entrepreneurs Must Know

    Business Trends Entrepreneurs Must Know

  • Science & Tech
    • All
    • Ai - Artificial Intelligence
    • Apps
    • Mobile
    Two men point guns at each other in On the Count of Three.

    On the Count of Three writers on blending comedy and drama

    Facebook Dating was a catastrophic failure — and I know why

    Facebook Dating was a catastrophic failure — and I know why

    Xiaomi Mi Band 7

    Xiaomi Mi Band 7 release date, images revealed

    Twitter deal leaves Elon Musk with no easy way out

    Twitter deal leaves Elon Musk with no easy way out

    The best cheap gaming headset deals May 2022

    The best cheap gaming headset deals May 2022

    More free COVID rapid tests are available. Here's how to get yours

    More free COVID rapid tests are available. Here’s how to get yours

    "No, I hear you. You're telling me that true 'synergy' can only be achieved through 'blue-sky thinking' and giving it '110 percent,' right?"

    5 major tech annoyances and how to fix them

    Lumen metabolic analyzer update 2

    Lumen metabolic analyzer iOS app gets updated macro tracker

    Saving money.

    Tech smarts: 5 silly ways you’re flushing money down the toilet

    What time is the Blood Moon lunar eclipse?

    What time is the Blood Moon lunar eclipse?

  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    President Biden ahead of an Illinois appearance to discuss combatting inflation and high gas prices.

    High gas prices could be alleviated by the Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act — if it passes the Senate

    A woman stands in front of sheer curtains with her hands in her coat pockets.

    ‘Downton Abbey’ star Michelle Dockery wants more sequels

    Greek composer Vangelis dies; wrote scores for 'Chariots of Fire' and 'Blade Runner'

    Greek composer Vangelis dies; wrote scores for ‘Chariots of Fire’ and ‘Blade Runner’

    Joseph Owades invented light beer in the 1960s, revolutionizing the American beer industry, then in the 1980s became an essential figure behind the craft beer phenomenon. 

    Joseph Owades created light beer, forever changing the way America drinks

    Clea Shearer starts chemotherapy for breast cancer

    Clea Shearer starts chemotherapy for breast cancer

    A man, right, talks to a woman pouring herself a drink at a bar

    ‘Men’ ending explained: Birth, rebirth and what it means

    A man standing on the ceiling of an upside-down living room

    Harry Styles: Perfect boyfriend, pop star on ‘Harry’s House’

    Nine Techniques To Keep Customer Support Conversations Productive And Positive

    Nine Techniques To Keep Customer Support Conversations Productive And Positive

    Johnny Depp and Ellen Barkin in 1994.

    Ellen Barkin Recalls Johnny Depp’s Sex-Scratch Suspicion And Throwing Bottle

    Two people in black stand near a window.

    ‘Men’ explained: What inspired Alex Garland’s trippy horror

    • F95zone
  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Travel
    Good dining habits make good sense — check out the insights shared by an etiquette consultant based in Florida.

    Are your table manners up to snuff? Etiquette expert calls out 12 tacky habits

    Latest Russia-Ukraine War News: Live Updates

    Latest Russia-Ukraine War News: Live Updates

    This chart show that it's Marmaris in Turkey that offers the cheapest prices for holidaymakers in Europe

    Budget holidays special: Thirty cut-price summer breaks from Corfu to the Caribbean

    Miles Teller Tom Cruise Christopher McQuarrie and Jennifer Connelly attend the screening of Top Gun Maverick during the...

    Tom Cruise’s Watch Will Be Accurate Until the Year 2100

    Ready meals on sale at Marks and Spencer store, 2020

    UK cost-of-living crisis to heighten demand for convenient meal options

    Adopting a dog after meeting my wife changed me

    Adopting a dog after meeting my wife changed me

    How Megan Fox Inspired ‘Good Mourning,’ Machine Gun Kelly’s Wild New Stoner Comedy With Pete Davidson

    How Megan Fox Inspired ‘Good Mourning,’ Machine Gun Kelly’s Wild New Stoner Comedy With Pete Davidson

    Illustration of a woman applying sunscreen

    14 heat safety tips for L.A. hiking during hot weather

    This Might Be Chromat’s Most Inclusive Swimwear Collection Yet

    This Might Be Chromat’s Most Inclusive Swimwear Collection Yet

    People urged to cook frozen fruit and vegetables because of Listeria findings

    People urged to cook frozen fruit and vegetables because of Listeria findings

33 °f
Chicago
35 ° Sat
35 ° Sun
35 ° Mon
37 ° Tue
No Result
View All Result
Daily illinois - USA | News, Sports & Updates Web Magazine
  • Covid-19
  • News
    • All
    • Business
    • Education
    • Politics
    • Sports
    • World
    Deadly thunderstorm complex cuts power to nearly a million in Canada

    Deadly thunderstorm complex cuts power to nearly a million in Canada

    David Smith of CDOT

    How does the city decide where to put new bike lanes?

    2 Recession Stocks to Buy Right Now

    2 Recession Stocks to Buy Right Now

    Chicago McDonald's shooting: Jaylun Sanders, Kameron Abram charged after 9 shot, 2 fatally, on Near North Side, police say

    Chicago McDonald’s shooting: Jaylun Sanders, Kameron Abram charged after 9 shot, 2 fatally, on Near North Side, police say

    The 10 Best VPNs for Your Business on Sale

    The 10 Best VPNs for Your Business on Sale

    U.S. Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, salutes during the U.S. Military Academy's Class of 2022 graduation ceremony at West Point, New York, May 21, 2022.

    Gen. Milley warns West Point graduates of ‘increasing’ risk of global war, ‘robotic tanks’

    Soccer player Megan Rapinoe waves to the crowd during the second quarter of a WNBA basketball game between the Minnesota Lynx and the Seattle Storm on on May 6, 2022, in Seattle.

    US Soccer Equalizes Pay In Milestone With Women, Men

    This image provided by Steven Bischer, shows an upended vehicle following an apparent tornado, Friday, May 20, 2022, in Gaylord, Mich.

    At least 2 dead, 40 injured

    WHO mulls monkeypox guidance amid spread

    WHO mulls monkeypox guidance amid spread

    Business Trends Entrepreneurs Must Know

    Business Trends Entrepreneurs Must Know

  • Science & Tech
    • All
    • Ai - Artificial Intelligence
    • Apps
    • Mobile
    Two men point guns at each other in On the Count of Three.

    On the Count of Three writers on blending comedy and drama

    Facebook Dating was a catastrophic failure — and I know why

    Facebook Dating was a catastrophic failure — and I know why

    Xiaomi Mi Band 7

    Xiaomi Mi Band 7 release date, images revealed

    Twitter deal leaves Elon Musk with no easy way out

    Twitter deal leaves Elon Musk with no easy way out

    The best cheap gaming headset deals May 2022

    The best cheap gaming headset deals May 2022

    More free COVID rapid tests are available. Here's how to get yours

    More free COVID rapid tests are available. Here’s how to get yours

    "No, I hear you. You're telling me that true 'synergy' can only be achieved through 'blue-sky thinking' and giving it '110 percent,' right?"

    5 major tech annoyances and how to fix them

    Lumen metabolic analyzer update 2

    Lumen metabolic analyzer iOS app gets updated macro tracker

    Saving money.

    Tech smarts: 5 silly ways you’re flushing money down the toilet

    What time is the Blood Moon lunar eclipse?

    What time is the Blood Moon lunar eclipse?

  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    President Biden ahead of an Illinois appearance to discuss combatting inflation and high gas prices.

    High gas prices could be alleviated by the Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act — if it passes the Senate

    A woman stands in front of sheer curtains with her hands in her coat pockets.

    ‘Downton Abbey’ star Michelle Dockery wants more sequels

    Greek composer Vangelis dies; wrote scores for 'Chariots of Fire' and 'Blade Runner'

    Greek composer Vangelis dies; wrote scores for ‘Chariots of Fire’ and ‘Blade Runner’

    Joseph Owades invented light beer in the 1960s, revolutionizing the American beer industry, then in the 1980s became an essential figure behind the craft beer phenomenon. 

    Joseph Owades created light beer, forever changing the way America drinks

    Clea Shearer starts chemotherapy for breast cancer

    Clea Shearer starts chemotherapy for breast cancer

    A man, right, talks to a woman pouring herself a drink at a bar

    ‘Men’ ending explained: Birth, rebirth and what it means

    A man standing on the ceiling of an upside-down living room

    Harry Styles: Perfect boyfriend, pop star on ‘Harry’s House’

    Nine Techniques To Keep Customer Support Conversations Productive And Positive

    Nine Techniques To Keep Customer Support Conversations Productive And Positive

    Johnny Depp and Ellen Barkin in 1994.

    Ellen Barkin Recalls Johnny Depp’s Sex-Scratch Suspicion And Throwing Bottle

    Two people in black stand near a window.

    ‘Men’ explained: What inspired Alex Garland’s trippy horror

    • F95zone
  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Travel
    Good dining habits make good sense — check out the insights shared by an etiquette consultant based in Florida.

    Are your table manners up to snuff? Etiquette expert calls out 12 tacky habits

    Latest Russia-Ukraine War News: Live Updates

    Latest Russia-Ukraine War News: Live Updates

    This chart show that it's Marmaris in Turkey that offers the cheapest prices for holidaymakers in Europe

    Budget holidays special: Thirty cut-price summer breaks from Corfu to the Caribbean

    Miles Teller Tom Cruise Christopher McQuarrie and Jennifer Connelly attend the screening of Top Gun Maverick during the...

    Tom Cruise’s Watch Will Be Accurate Until the Year 2100

    Ready meals on sale at Marks and Spencer store, 2020

    UK cost-of-living crisis to heighten demand for convenient meal options

    Adopting a dog after meeting my wife changed me

    Adopting a dog after meeting my wife changed me

    How Megan Fox Inspired ‘Good Mourning,’ Machine Gun Kelly’s Wild New Stoner Comedy With Pete Davidson

    How Megan Fox Inspired ‘Good Mourning,’ Machine Gun Kelly’s Wild New Stoner Comedy With Pete Davidson

    Illustration of a woman applying sunscreen

    14 heat safety tips for L.A. hiking during hot weather

    This Might Be Chromat’s Most Inclusive Swimwear Collection Yet

    This Might Be Chromat’s Most Inclusive Swimwear Collection Yet

    People urged to cook frozen fruit and vegetables because of Listeria findings

    People urged to cook frozen fruit and vegetables because of Listeria findings

33 °f
Chicago
35 ° Sat
35 ° Sun
35 ° Mon
37 ° Tue
No Result
View All Result
Daily illinois - USA | News, Sports & Updates Web Magazine
No Result
View All Result
Home News Education

A Black Student’s Mother Complained About ‘Fences.’ He Was Expelled.

by Staff Writer
December 15, 2020
in Education
Reading Time: 6 mins read
0
A Black Student’s Mother Complained About ‘Fences.’ He Was Expelled.
493
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

When the mother of a Black ninth grader at a private school in Charlotte, N.C., learned last month that his English class was going to be studying August Wilson’s “Fences,” an acclaimed play examining racism in 1950s America, she complained to the school.

Related posts

Chicago Teachers Union elects Stacy Davis Gates as new president, keeping CORE slate in power – Chicago Tribune

Chicago Teachers Union elects Stacy Davis Gates as new president, keeping CORE slate in power – Chicago Tribune

May 21, 2022
‘Why are we cutting positions in schools?’ – Chicago Tribune

‘Why are we cutting positions in schools?’ – Chicago Tribune

May 20, 2022

The drama, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1987 and was adapted into a critically praised film starring Denzel Washington in 2016, is about a Black family and is peppered with racial slurs from the first page.

Faith Fox, a lawyer and single mother, said in an interview that she imagined her son’s mostly white class at the Providence Day School reading the dialogue out loud. She said her main concern was that the themes were too mature for the group and would foster stereotypes about Black families.

After a round of emails and a meeting with Ms. Fox, the school agreed to an alternate lesson for her son, Jamel, 14. The school also discussed complaints with the parents of four other students. Ms. Fox’s disagreement escalated. She took it to a parents’ Facebook group, and later fired off an email that school officials said was a personal attack on a faculty member.

On the day after Thanksgiving, the school notified Ms. Fox that Jamel would no longer be attending the school, the only one he had ever known.

His mother called it an expulsion. The school referred to it as “a termination of enrollment” that had to do with the parent, not the student. Either way, what was meant to be a literary lesson in diversity and inclusion had somehow cost a Black 14-year-old his place in an elite private high school.

Jamel had recently made the school basketball team and said in an interview that he hoped to graduate as a Providence Day lifer. “I was completely crushed,” he said. “There was no, ‘Please don’t kick me out, I won’t say this, I won’t say that, my mom won’t say this, my mom won’t say that.’” He is making plans to attend public school in January.

This year has brought a reckoning with race at many American institutions, including schools. When widespread street protests erupted after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, young people across the country used social media to expose racism at their schools. At Providence Day School, Black students shared stories of discrimination and insensitivity on Instagram, and the school was among many that released statements against racism.

“For the Black members of our community, we see you, we hear you and we will act,” the statement said. The school also revised its bias complaint process and created alumni, faculty and student diversity groups.

But Ms. Fox said, she felt the school’s treatment of her son proved this was all just lip service.

“You can have the important conversations about race and segregation without destroying the confidence and self-esteem of your Black students and the Black population,” Ms. Fox said in an interview. Just over 7 percent of the school’s 1,780 students are Black, about 70 percent are white, and the rest identify as members of other minority groups.

A spokeswoman for the school, Leigh Dyer, said last week that officials were “saddened” that Jamel had to leave.

“As a school community, we value a diversity of thought and teach students to engage in civil discourse around topics that they might not necessarily agree on,” Ms. Dyer said. “We have the same expectation for the adults in our community.”

The Nov. 27 termination letter cited “bullying, harassment and racially discriminatory actions” and “slanderous accusations towards the school itself” by Jamel’s mother.

Ms. Dyer provided a statement that said Ms. Fox had made “multiple personal attacks against a person of color in our school administration, causing that person to feel bullied, harassed and unsafe” in the discussions about “Fences.” It also said Ms. Fox had a history of making “toxic” statements about the faculty and others at the school, but did not provide examples.

Ms. Fox denied this. “Instead of addressing the issue they’re trying to make me seem like an angry, ranting Black woman,” she said.

The New York Times reviewed emails and Facebook messages that Ms. Fox provided and also interviewed two other Providence Day parents who said they had similar concerns about the play and about a video the school used to facilitate conversations about the racial slur. They spoke on condition of anonymity to protect their children.

The school had notified parents in early November about the lesson plan in an email. Noting the frequent appearance of the slur in dialogue, it said that students would say “N-word” instead when reading aloud. It said time would be “devoted to considering the word itself and some of its more nuanced aspects of meaning.”

The email included a link to a PBS NewsHour interview with Randall Kennedy, a Black professor at Harvard, discussing the history of the slur while using it repeatedly.

“It wasn’t something that I thought was appropriate for a roomful of elite, affluent white children,” Ms. Fox said.

Her son was also dreading the lesson, which he would have attended via video because of the coronavirus pandemic. “It’s really awkward being in a classroom of majority white students when those words come up,” Jamel said, “because they just look at you and laugh at you, talk about you as soon as you leave class. I can’t really do anything because I’m usually the only Black person there.”

Ms. Dyer, the spokeswoman, said the school had introduced the study of “Fences” in 2017 in response to Black parents who wanted more lessons addressing race. In past years, there had been only one complaint about the play, she said.

After her son was offered an alternative assignment, Ms. Fox posted about “Fences” to the Facebook group. Other parents said they too had concerns about the play and the PBS video. One comment directed her to an online essay by a student from a prior year who described the “dagger” she felt “cutting deeper and deeper” with each mention of the slur in the video.

That’s when Ms. Fox sent an email to the school’s director of equity and inclusion, calling her a “disgrace to the Black community.” Ten days later, Jamel was kicked out of the school. Ms. Fox said that she was surprised but that she does not regret sending the email in the heat of the moment.

After Jamel’s expulsion, a letter signed by “concerned Black faculty members” was sent to parents of the four other students who had complained, arguing the literary merits of “Fences.” It said great African-American writers do not create perfect Black characters when they are trying to show the “damaging legacy of racism.”

That is a view held by many critics and academics. Sandra G. Shannon, a professor of African-American literature at Howard University and founder of the August Wilson Society, said schools should not shy away from the “harsh realities of the past.”

Katie Rieser, a professor at Harvard Graduate School of Education, said “Fences” is taught widely in middle school and high school, but she also urged that it be done so with care.

“It’s telling a story about a Black family that, if it’s the only text or it’s one of only a few texts about Black people that students read, might give white students in particular a sense that Black families are all like this Black family,” she said.

Ms. Fox said the fight to be heard as a Black parent at a predominantly white private institution had been “exhausting.”

She recalled when Jamel came home upset in elementary school after a field trip to a former slave plantation. After she complained, the school ended the annual trips, she said.

The other day, she said her son told her he finally understood “why Black Lives Matter is so important and is not just about George Floyd and all of these people dying in the streets, but it also has to do with how we’re treated everywhere else.”

Source by www.nytimes.com

Related

Share197Tweet123Share49

Latest News - Daily illinois

Deadly thunderstorm complex cuts power to nearly a million in Canada

Deadly thunderstorm complex cuts power to nearly a million in Canada

May 22, 2022
ISO music director Ken Lam. - COURTESY OF ILLINOIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA.

Maestro bids farewell with a spirited night of American music | Culture

May 22, 2022
David Smith of CDOT

How does the city decide where to put new bike lanes?

May 22, 2022
2 Recession Stocks to Buy Right Now

2 Recession Stocks to Buy Right Now

May 22, 2022
Chicago McDonald's shooting: Jaylun Sanders, Kameron Abram charged after 9 shot, 2 fatally, on Near North Side, police say

Chicago McDonald’s shooting: Jaylun Sanders, Kameron Abram charged after 9 shot, 2 fatally, on Near North Side, police say

May 22, 2022
The 10 Best VPNs for Your Business on Sale

The 10 Best VPNs for Your Business on Sale

May 22, 2022
Gospel Queen Yolanda Adams on Facing Off Against a Stripper in ‘Kingdom Business’

Gospel Queen Yolanda Adams on Facing Off Against a Stripper in ‘Kingdom Business’

May 22, 2022
President Biden ahead of an Illinois appearance to discuss combatting inflation and high gas prices.

High gas prices could be alleviated by the Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act — if it passes the Senate

May 22, 2022
Daily illinois - USA | News, Sports & Updates Web Magazine

Copyright © 2020 Dailyillinois.com.

Navigate Site

  • Daily Illinois
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • DMCA
  • Sitemap
  • Write For Us

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • About Us Page
  • Contact
  • Daily illinois
  • DMCA Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Submit, Guest Post, Write For Us and Become a Contributor
  • Terms of Use

Copyright © 2020 Dailyillinois.com.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.