Black parent unhappy that ‘white privilege’ handout sent home with her second-grader son
2 hours
When Amber Pabon’s 8-year-old son came home one day last month from Hunter Magnet Elementary in Raleigh, North Carolina, a two-sided piece of paper in the second-grader’s folder got Mom quite upset.
The handout was about white privilege, WTVD-TV reported.
“My son comes home to me and asks me, ‘Mommy, are white people better than me?'” she recalled to the station. “He’s 8 years old. What does he need to know about racism or white privilege?”
Pabon noted to WTVD that her son is “not looking at the color of your skin, he’s not looking at your hair, your eye color, what you’re wearing. No. He wants to play with you because that’s what children do — they play with each other.”
The sheet is titled “Step 3: (Begin to) Understand the Concept of White Privilege,” the station reported, adding that Pabon said she didn’t receive any previous steps or forms about the topic.
The handout also notes that it’s part of an initiative from the school’s PTA Advocacy Team “focusing on generating awareness and empathy to create a safe and equitable Hunter Community,” WTVD said.
Pabon alleged the subject matter was taught in the classroom, the station reported, adding that a district spokesperson said the information isn’t part of the school’s curriculum.
What else did Pabon have to say?
“I think the message itself is inappropriate because, yes, there is racism out here, and they need to learn about it. But let the parents do that,” Pabon told WTVD. “Because like I said, if she’s teaching him the way she knows, it could be completely different from the way I know. And me being part of the black community, I know different from how the white community sees it.”
What did PTA members have to say?
Numerous PTA members told the station off camera that the content is aimed at parents, not students, and that the steps are sent home weekly and emailed and posted to the PTA’s Facebook page.
Parents have the choice to opt-out of receiving messages on the subject, WTVD said, adding that Pabon has done so.
The program began in February to coincide with Black History Month, the station reported, adding that the PTA said it’s received overwhelmingly positive feedback.
(H/T: The College Fix)
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