2nd-grader Sean King gets in trouble for dressing in blackface as tribute to Martin Luther King Jr

[capitol_barbie]

Controversy erupted at a Colorado elementary school after a student arrived in blackface as part of a Martin Luther King Jr. costume for a class project.

Second-grader Sean King was asked to remove the makeup by officials at Meridian Ranch Elementary chool in Colorado Springs Wednesday, reported KRDO-TV.

Comments

[lickety_split]

Instead of focusing on the child, this article should be about his ignorant ass parents.

[capitol_barbie]

seriously.

[bex]

Yep. This was posted over at Booj and that was the general consensus - don't punish the kid, just explain it to him (GENTLY!) and then wonder wtf the parents were thinking. It can be a teachable moment, but not if you shame the poor boy for something he doesn't even understand.

[ntensity]

Yea I am seriously disappointed that the article entirely glossed over the parents involvement in this. Who bought the makeup? Who applied it? Hey mom and dad, what were YOU thinking?:

[lickety_split]

And then the poor kid is left to answer for himself. Damn. So now he's just confused and hurt, which will likely manifest itself later as bitterness towards black people.

[hashishinahooka]

MTE.

[nesmith]

Seriously; I can see him becoming one of those "Black people are just so touchy and oversensitive and they looove playing the Race Card!" ignorant jackasses.

[randomtasks]

mte

[celtic_thistle]

Yup, the kid is a kid and it's the parents' responsibility to teach him how not to be an ignorant jackass.

[smittenlotus]

Seriously. :/

[othellia]

Either that or the teacher for assigning historical people for second graders to dress up as. Since kids would just take that to mean "look as similar to this person as physically possible", I'd be surprised if this hadn't happened. Though I am surprised the parents saw nothing wrong with it.

[ceilidh]

The school I used to teach at did a "wax museum" with fifth graders and they chose a person from the time period they studied in fifth grade and dressed as them, did a report and a poster, and stood in different places in the cafeteria and parents walked around as students talked about the person they chose. But the teachers *specifically* said not to paint faces and told them they were limited to clothing and accessories (for example, a kid dressed as Louis Armstrong wore a suit and borrowed his cousin's trumpet to carry around). Plus they had a poster with pictures right there with them so it was blatantly obvious who they were portraying even if they were limited in what they could use, dress-up wise.

But fifth graders are beginning to develop research skills, whereas second graders are not, so I think it's more appropriate for that age. In second grade it would end up with parents doing all the research.

[roseofjuly]

Come on, I'm sure he or she didn't expect them to come to school in blackface.

[spiffynamehere]

I was just about to say this, goddamn. A second-grader isn't going to get the implications. Two grown-ass adults? Fuck yeah.

[ceilidh]

And the stupid teacher who apparently didn't bother to specify that blackface is unacceptable! This is the kind of stuff you think about BEFORE it happens, not after!

[lickety_split]

For all we know, the assignment sheet could have said: "Stay mindful of the dress code when costuming your children", which includes (as stated in the article) that face paint isn't allowed.

Someone, somewhere dropped the ball and it's even worse that the child is getting all the heat for it.