The parents of the Oberlin High School District in Oberlin, Ohio are angered that a white man may be teaching Black History.
This is utterly ridiculous. The attitude of these parents indicates the clear racism which is still apparent in our society today. The fundamental idea behind the attitudes of the parents is the faulty premise that one’s race determines one’s character, personality, principles, and intelligence. The objection of these parents, in my opinion, is primarily fueled by the idea that this white man is not qualified to teach black history because of the fact that he is white.
This excerpt from the end of the article is appalling.
“When you talk about slavery, students need to understand it is not our fault,” she said. “Our ancestors did nothing wrong to be enslaved.“How do you work through that when the person teaching it is the same type of person who did the enslaving?”
I can not believe that such utter racism still passes for decency. The last sentence specifically implies that a white man is somehow partly responsible for the wrong choices of not only his direct ancestors, but every single person who has shared his skin color since the history of time.
Racism is the theory that a person’s character, personality, principles, intelligence, and other such traits are determined not by the free choices of every individual but rather they are automatically determined by one’s race. Racism denotes such a theory when applied to a member of any race, not just the member of the African-American race (even though, historically, they were the victims of racism very often).
Therefore, it is pure racism to claim that a white man is not qualified to teach a class merely because of the fact that he is white. A teacher’s qualifications have to do with their teaching ability, intelligence, knowledge of the subject being taught, etc., but NOT their race. Claiming that a teacher’s race is a good qualification for their being a good teacher is assuming that their intelliegence, teaching ability, and knowledge of the subject being taught are due to their race, and not their freely chosen values and principles. That is pure racism, and should be clearly condemned.
I condemn the opinions of these parents.
Unfortunately, some people, no matter the color of their skin, believe that if you have been victimized by racism then you can not possible be guilty of it yourself.
They also seem to be implying that the Black History class is supposed to be therapy. Didn’t think that was a teacher’s job.
If the concerned parents get there way they should check the ancestory of the African-American teacher. He might be a descendant of one of the African tribes that preyed on people of their own race.
The issue that is relevant to the parents concerns would be how a white teacher is going to relate to the racism that does exist in our culture. That is something that a white teacher can not do.
Comment by 7/28/2003 @ 8:54 pm
ESP, I would like to say something about your last statement in the comment you posted on my blog. The statement implies that in order to “truly” understand something, one must personally experience it ("how a white teacher is going to relate to the racism that does exist in our culture. That is something that a white teacher can not do."). It is a logically fallacy to assume that someone does not properly understand X because they have not personally experienced X.
Secondly, I am a white male, and I have been at the blunt end of racism and racists policies many times. For example, the university I attend, is partially funded through state money. One of the major qualifications for who receives this money and who does not is one’s race. Also, there are those people who claim that I am somehow morally responsible for the choices, actions, principles, and ideas of every other individual who is or ever was white. These are just some examples of how I have been a victim of racism, there are many more.
Thank you for posting your comment on my blog, I welcome many more in the future.
Comment by 7/28/2003 @ 10:11 pm