Source: BRYAN R. SMITH / Getty
How many white people have to get themselves in trouble for wearing Blackface costumes before the rest of the whites understand that this sh** isn’t OK?
Apparently, some of them will never learn because a Massachusetts Montessori school just had to fire a teacher and issue a public apology because said teacher was seemingly so unimaginative when it came to how to honor Black History Month, that when the noose-like chain on the light bulb in her head was finally pulled, all she could come up with was Blackface masks—which she had toddlers make.
According to NBC10 Boston, the whole thing took place last Tuesday at IC Kids in Newton. Nadirah Pierce, the mother who reportedly exposed the ill-advised arts and kkkrafts session, picked her kids up from school and discovered what they had been working on.
“This is unacceptable and I don’t really understand the concept of this project,” Pierce told NBC10. “The apology received was empty and then to go onto Facebook and see that apology was disheartening. I hope this is a lesson to possibly really prepare to do projects on cultures before doing them to avoid a hurtful gesture to a group of people.”
It’s unclear what was said in the initial statement because the Facebook page has since been deleted, but the school, which is shut down until further notice behind the incident, has a statement posted on its doors that reads: “To celebrate ‘black history month’, a teacher in toddler classroom at ICKids planned and carried out an activity that involved black masks ‘blackface.’ One of the parents brought it to our attention and was offended; The teacher apologized to the parent.”
The statement also confirms that the teacher responsible had been “released from her employment,” and that the school, in its initial statement, was “trying to send a message to say that research for toddler curriculum was not executed or completed in the manner that It should have been, so we apologize to every and anyone this may have offended.”
Listen, people: Black History Month is simple. It’s a time to celebrate Black achievement, culture and contribution that isn’t covered in the normal historical curriculum taught in schools (*gestures widely towards the vast majority of it*). So stop doing silly sh** like reenacting slavery, or lynchings or segregation or MOTHER F****** BLACKFACE!!
If all you can think of to commemorate the month is to teach small children about our oppression in the most tasteless way possible, it’s likely because you’re racist.
Seriously, WTF is wrong with some of y’all?
