On Saturday, I officially joined the B'hai faith after almost a year of research. On Sunday, I went to my first devotion at someone's house. While I was there I met so many different people, including a Black woman who had lived in my town for 35 years. We began talking about prejudice and I brought up our discussions in AIS about the use of the N word in Huck Finn, when she told me that they took it off the shelves at New Trier while her children were in school there. I then said that the book could only be taught in AIS classes because of a letter sent by concerned parents a while ago. The woman hosting the devotion and the woman I was talking to look at me and said "We fought the school board because of that book, we wrote that letter".
They went on to explain to me why they sent it. Their children, who were both black students who attended New Trier, had been apart of classes who read Huck Finn. After students in those classes had read the book, they began using the N word when addressing the black students. Their kids came home hurt and degraded day after day. They felt that they had to remove this book to protect their children from harmful words and future black students from hearing the same words.
When we had first read the letter, I assumed that these parents were bored, white Glencoe parents who wanted to take a stand against something, I couldn't believe that anyone at New Trier would really feel like they were verbally abused by racist language because I just assume that New Trier students are intelligent and kind at heart. I guess I was just very naive.
Both these women are highly educated, kind women who were just concerned for their family. When I told them we still read the letter and examine their points they were so thrilled because they felt like their voices were still being heard.
It's a small world after all...
Chloe, while reading your blog I was so surprised to read why the parents wrote the letter. Like you, I assumed and had no idea that these kids were being verbally abused. I need to go back and question all my arguments against that letter. I would have taken a different stance in my essay about Huck Finn if I had known about those children. I guess this shows our class how we need to look at the whole picture. The actual letter should not be the only aspect we look at but why and what was occurring when they wrote the letter.
ReplyDeleteChloe, Thoughtful and honest meta-post. This post also does a nice job of relating a classroom issue with an important episode from your personal life. The very goal of blogging for us. nice job!
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