My Louisiana correspondent reports that at Grambling they are staging mock hangings as part of a lesson on the Jena Six.
The indoctrination starts early. Before you know it these kids will be convinced that every white person wants to kill them. They'll be expecting racism in every interaction with whites and will see it everywhere, even when no racial content is intended. This is how you maintain racial solidarity across the generations.
The Grambling student newspaper ran pictures of a mock hanging and the administration ordered it taken off the website. Here's a link to the paper's website. For more local commentary see here.
Story here. Picture above. Check out the faces of the kids. The girl in the noose seems terrified, most of the others are somber, absorbing the poisonous message, but the kid holding a noose seems to be enjoying it. Scary stuff!
Don't get me wrong here. Lynching was a very real phenomenon and a brutal instrument of social control in late nineteenth and early twentieth century America. It was primarily, but not exclusively, directed against blacks, and is a terrible stain on our nation's history. For a visual record go here [warning, very gruesome images]. It is most certainly a proper subject for discussion in schools, but not in kindergarten and first grade, and not in the manner represented in the photo. Save it for a later age when the terrible material can be presented in a reasonable context and more appropriate manner.
This is nothing more than a cynical attempt to put a racially inflammatory spin on the incidents at Jena. It is shameful and despicable.
Once again, take a look at the expression on that poor girl's face.
UPDATE:
My LA Correspondent writes to inform me:
Apparently a virus has attacked the Gramblinite and deleted the articles you
linked to. It now goes to their home page. The News Star in Monroe
apparently had the same virus affliction.
The Ruston Daily Leader has better virus protection, but it's only a matter
of time and a few phone calls before they, too, become afflicted with the
virus.
It's insidious. TheDenialVirus.
The school is apparently in full denial mode. It didn't happen..., nothing to see here folks..., move along..., move along.
UPDATE:
Here's the Monroe Star account of the school's response to the incident along with another photo.
UPDATE:
The coverup continues. The Grambling student paper has suppressed the three pictures of the faux-lynching incident. They have removed them from their website and have warned all other sources against reproducing copyrighted material. Read about it here.
UPDATE:
The teacher who organized this atrocious "teaching exercise" has been placed on administrative leave with pay. [here] Thanks JB.
