A Virginia school district has abandoned its usage of a short video on race and affirmative action for a high school Black History Month event after parents and students complained about its content. The AP reports:
A school district in Virginia has decided not to use a video about race and affirmative action after it made students uncomfortable and drew criticism from parents who called it "white guilt."
The video was shown at Glen Allen High School during two assemblies for Black History Month. It depicts several runners on a track, with black runners facing insurmountable obstacles while white runners are unimpeded.
The four-minute video is titled "Structural Discrimination: The Unequal Opportunity Race." It was created for the African American Policy Forum.
Henrico County School Board Chairwoman Michelle Ogburn apologized to those who were offended and said administrators across the district have been instructed not to use the video. She says steps are being taken to prevent the use of racially divisive materials in the future.
Here’s a look at the totally innocuous and sometimes even humorous actual video:
This is really what parents and students objected to playing? Sheesh. Guess they don’t play Roots in schools anymore. Of course the goal is to never actually have any conversations about race or disparities because all that stuff is in the past, slavery was a long time ago, and people should be happy and live their lives. Right?