Instead of pride at the accomplishments of African-Americans, students in
Ithaca are being taught that “black history” is little more than exercises in “simulated racism,” and reinforced stereotypes.
According to the Ithaca Journal, middle school students spent the day engaged in classes such as "Jim Crow Simulation" as part of a “diversity” program called "Black History, what does it mean to me?”
According to the Journal, one of the ways that the school helped students “understand racism” was to break them into groups. Once broken into groups, the students “were instructed to take a brief written test, not knowing there were actually two sets of tests distributed -- one easy, one difficult.”
This, the staff argued, was meant “to draw empathy," for African-Americans, completely missing the implication they created that Blacks find learning more "difficult" than whites.
The article also notes there were workshops about the African-American community’s success in “anything from hip-hop … to blues,” as well as “a dance presentation.” There were also presentations in cooking “hush puppies.”
Once again, it seems that the educators missed the subtle message of what they were doing: telling their students that the only accomplishments of African-Americans worth celebrating are as entertainers and cooks, reinforcing the unfortunate stereotype of blacks as little more than minstrels and servants.
Ironically, after a day of victimhood and stereotyping, one of the students happily told the Journal, "It was a firsthand opportunity to see how racism is."
