I found this article from the Canton Repository, stating the Ohio Board of Education is condemning hate speech. Yes, I fully support this.
Here's an excerpt from the article.
The Ohio Board of Education condemned hate speech and racism in schools, directing the Department of Education on Tuesday to review state curriculum models and tests for racial bias and recommend ways to “ensure that racism and the struggle for equality are accurately addressed.”
The resolution, approved by a vote of 12-5, “strongly recommends that all Ohio school districts begin a reflection and internal examination of their own involving teachers, parents, students and community to review curriculum; hiring practices; discipline strategies, suspension and expulsions; classroom resources including text books; and professional development.”
It also requires bias training for Department of Education employees.
The resolution by board President Laura Kohler follows the May 25 killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, while in the custody of Minneapolis police. Floyd’s death and others of Black Americans at the hands of police sparked demonstrations in Ohio and across the country.
“We must confront our own bias. We must learn about how racism impacts society and how to recognize and eliminate racism perhaps even in our own hearts,” Kohler, of New Albany, told colleagues at the board’s monthly meeting, calling the resolution among the most important of her tenure.
Unfortunately, there were a few folks that "don't believe systemic racism exists."
Here's the tweet.
This woman represents Ohio School Board District 3, which contains my sons' school district.
And yes, she's Black.
Here's an excerpt of the 74million.org article.
Board Vice President Charlotte McGuire, who is Black, also voted against the resolution.
“I don’t believe in systemic racism,” she said, explaining that systems are just made up of individuals who determine how systems work.
And she questioned the idea of privilege, saying she has succeeded even after attending segregated schools in Memphis growing up, because adults encouraged her.
“When you talk about privilege … am I privileged?” she asked. “I could talk about Black privilege, for example, because of my achievement in life. A lot just has to do with the hearts of people.”
I get where she's going with this train of thought; I just disagree with her.
The times have changed. The methodology to deny bigotry got more covert over time. The chasm of responsibility and truth got wider.
While she was on my local TV station, calling white privilege and implicit bias "buzz words", she failed to mention the school to prison pipeline, how chattel slavery has evolved in this present time, the need for truth in our children's curriculum; nor has she addressed young Black males and female students being suspended or expelled more than their White counterparts.
I won't lie; I changed the channel.
She surely does not speak for me for my children.
It's time to stop burying our heads in the sand. This method hasn't worked out at all.
It's time for uncomfortable truths.
Those uncomfortable truths may lead to the reparative work that's so desperately needed.