Black History Month: You’re Doing It Wrong
Tweet
Three Los Angeles elementary school teachers accused of giving children portraits of O.J. Simpson, Dennis Rodman and RuPaul to carry in a Black History Month parade have been removed from their classrooms, a school district spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Children from other classes at the school displayed photos of more appropriate black role models, such as Nelson Mandela, Harriet Tubman and President Barack Obama, Los Angeles Unified School District spokeswoman Gayle Pollard-Terry said.
20 Responses to “Black History Month: You’re Doing It Wrong”
GOP Rep. Spencer Bachus Facing House Ethics Probe For Insider Trading
Jennifer Aniston Reportedly Pregnant With Twins
PHOTOS: Tamara Ecclestone At The Langham Hotel
Red Front? “Center For American Freedom” Logo Echoes Communist Style
Romney Calls For Defunding Planned Parenthood, Wife Was A Donor
GOP Fundraising Email Asks Supporters To “Knock Out” Obama
Romney Comes Up Limp In Nevada
Obama Opens Lead On Romney In New Poll
Latest Entries
Why Do Liberals Support Drone Strikes?
Weekly Standard Rolls Out The Iraq Argument For Iran
Equal Polarization, My Ass
Some Crazy Stuff That Happened In World War II
Maryland Republican Campaign Funds Used To Defend Voter Suppression
The Obama Jobs Record In One Graph
Martin O’Malley All In For Marriage Equality
Newt Gingrich, Filled With More Excrement Than Your Average Politician
New Year, Powerline Still Stupid
Thanks Again
Meta
Blogroll
Disclaimer
The views on this site are mine and mine alone, and do not reflect the views of my employer, Media Matters for America
© 2000-2011 Oliver Willis
A “possible” murderer and a couple of freaky dudes… Still a bit less messy than White history months/all the time. Mulligan?
What, no Flavor Flav?
All the teachers were white men. What are the odds?
Charles Rangel & David Patterson
“A “possible” murderer” should read “A “probable” murderer” and as such I too would think this is not the most appropriate role-model. The others, though certainly not your average citizen, certainly should be seen as role-models.
What’s your point, Farris? That there are some black men who may be considered inappropriate role models?
Stop effing the presses, he’s got an exclusive.
I think it’s clear that there are good and poor choices for role models from every ethnicity. For every David Patterson, you could be equally wrong suggesting a corrupt white guy.
BTW, don’t think I didn’t notice that your suggestions were Democratic African American politicians. You were the first person to bring politics into this thread. OJ, RuPaul and Rodman haven’t been elected to anything, they are merely prominent celebrities (two athletes and one entertainer).
Forcing this into a political fight just makes you look like an ass.
Holy fucking shit! That reads like it fell out of Rush Limbaugh’s desk drawer: My Dream for America’s Schools: A Play in One Act.
I would volunteer my kid to carry the RuPaul portrait. That would be beyond awesome.
They left out 50 cent and Jay-Z, who actually are considered role models.
While, I get the outrage over a poster of OJ, I don’t get, at all, why either Dennis Rodman or RuPaul would be inappropriate ~ or even why/how they could ever be lumped in w/ OJ.
Anywhere there’s a news article about this, the comments are pure win:
What is so shocking about this? It was Black History month, thats about all there is to it.
—
What’s shocking is…the story didn’t mention your mother. You know she loves black and latino men. Just ask the 1000′s that did her, before she became so old and outdated.
—
Now that is three people the black race can be proud of…….,,by the way, when are we going to have White History Month, White TV, Miss White America and don’t forget the NAAWP………
—
Good times.
A.
Can’t agree with Rodman. He certianly isn’t a normal citizen considering arrest record and drug abuse. It may not be as catchy to put up Harriet Tubman as a role model instead of Jay Z but the importance is Black History. Something tells me 50 Cent etc.. are still a crap stain compared to real Black heroes in American history. “Role Models” is a wierd subject especially in history because it affects how we learn history. Hero worship clouds how we look at people in history. Kids should celebrate great actions(and in this case great Black American actions) not looking for idols to worship.
They’re not as easy to ridicule as Rodman and RuPaul.
In his defense, there really aren’t any Republican black leaders of any consequence.
OJ and Dennis no, but what’s wrong with RuPaul? He’s a great African American. And no, that’s not sarcasm. I admire him.
Wow, just wow.
I do have to say I don’t find anything wrong with RuPaul because he has done good work fighting for equal rights for the LGBT community.
I have several problems with this. Who or whom decides which people are “appropriate” role-models? What defines an appropriate role-model? OJ Simpson is a possible murderer but he also has legacy as a great athlete; should let one fact outweigh the other? What if if was Mumia Abu-Jamal instead? Dennis Rodman might be “freaky” but he is also one of the most well known people to have ever played in the NBA; who doesn’t about “Rebound Rodman”? What if it was Michael Jackson instead? What’s wrong with RuPaul? RuPaul seems like a principled individual whom is very active for the civil rights of LGBT people; are we suggesting that being associated with LGBT people is “inappropriate”?
Also it’s Black history month, not black role-models month or “good” black history month. If Black history month is to have any meaning it should focus on all Black history, the good the bad and the ugly, instead of just the “good”. Sure OJ Simpson probably is murderer but he is also a historically important individual whom is worthy of discussing and is indeed discussed in many classrooms; especially classrooms dealing with law.
Many people might not agree with someone like OJ Simpson as a “role-model” but that doesn’t mean you should fire the teacher whom thought otherwise or insist that role-models like Barack Obama are somehow more appropriate; indeed there many good arguments that could be made to suggest otherwise.
Aw come on…look at the bang up jobs by Mikey Steele and Alan Keyes!
Hey, if you really wanted a black Republican . . . .
Frederick Douglass.
Ummm… gee, I can’t believe the name Colin Powell doesn’t jump out as a black leader for the Republican party. Not that his years of service protecting our homes counts for much. Regardless of political views, the man deserves honorable mention.