CANCEL SC: Class of Kids Made To Pick Cotton (!!) On "Field" Trip

South Carolina Mom Outraged After Kids Told to Pick Cotton, Sing Slave Song as "Game"



http://www.fox46charlotte.com/news/...yG0IuCzYuUx4luzGoSwnLbtZ9a0NaTxHDt_FsqXymNUu8

ROCK HILL, S.C. (FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) - A South Carolina mother is outraged after her 10-year-old son, and his classmates, were told to pick cotton and sing a slave song with words like, "I like it when you don't talk back, make money for me," as part of a class field trip during Black History Month.

"I'm livid right now," said Jessica Blanchard, before wiping away tears. "I'm African-American and my ancestors picked cotton. Why would I want my son to pick cotton and think it's fun?"

Cell phone video taken by a teacher and sent to parents show fifth graders from Ebenezer Avenue Elementary in Rock Hill, picking cotton. Another video shows kids hurrying to fill their sacks. In each video, the kids are being instructed to sing: "I like it when you fill the sack. I like it when you don't talk back. Make money for me."

"I think it's making a mockery," said Blanchard. "A mockery of slavery. A mockery of what our people went through."

Blanchard's son, Jamari, says he didn't understand what he was singing. He said the instructors did not explain how cotton fields were harvested by African-American slaves.

"Did they talk about how slaves used to pick cotton?" FOX 46 investigative reporter Matt Grant asked.

"No," said Jamari.

A permission slip, which parents had to sign, does mention "cotton picking" as part of a history lesson. Not on slavery, but on the Great Depression.

For 15 years, Rock Hill fifth graders have been coming to the Carroll School, which was built in 1929 by and for African-Americans. The school, part of the Rosenwald Initiative, was the product of grant money donated by Julius Rosenwald, the president of Sears. More than 5,000 schools were created in 15 states.

The Carroll School closed in 1954 and was later restored by Rock Hill Schools, which took over the building in 2004. It is now on the National Register of Historic Places and serves as a teaching center for African-American history during the Great Depression, when the school was built.

The district calls the field trip a "unique learning opportunity" that promotes "understanding about our past" and "helps students make real-life connections."

"What did your other classmates think about all this?" asked Grant.

"They thought it was funny," said Jamari, who says he thought picking cotton was a fun game.

"It was a contest," he said. "Whoever picked the least amount of cotton had to hold a big sackcalled 'Big Mama.'"

"I just can't put my feelings into words," his mother said. "That's how upset I am."

On a foggy morning, FOX 46 visited the Carroll School and met with Wali Cathcart, 81, an instructor and former student. He attended the school in 1943. The son of sharecroppers, this former cotton farmer now shows kids firsthand what he and his parents had to do to survive.

"We need innovation in the education system," said Cathcart. "Not just lecturing children in a classroom telling them something. There's nothing better than hands on."

Cathcart denies turning cotton picking into a "race" issue. He says the 'Big Mama' sack "is just humor."

"What do you say to people who find this offensive and say this trivializes slavery?" asked Grant, on behalf of Blanchard.

"I'd certainly love to answer that question because I deal with this issue all the time," said Cathcart. "One of the problems when it comes to African-American people is that they fail to understand history in its proper context, and, because of that, we are at a disadvantage today."

Cathcart said the kids need to know what their parents went through. The lessons of slavery are taught in third grade, and elsewhere, he said.

"This program is not about that [slavery]," he said. "This program here is centered around the Great Depression of the 1930s, so slavery is not the predominent issue."

Growing up on a farm, cotton "provided the living for us," said Cathcart. "That was money that we got to survive and live on."

Growing up, "cotton was still the main crop" during the Great Depression. He wants today's kids to know what life used to be like.

The problem, according to Blanchard, is that her son no idea he was singing a slave song or that slaves used to pick cotton. FOX 46 asked why the school skips over the history of slaves being forced to pick cotton and if it should be mentioned.

That is when Rock Hill Schools spokesman Mychal Frost stopped the interview.

"That's done in third grade, Matt, that is not the topic of this interview," said Frost, putting his hand in front of the camera. "The interview is about the Great Depression. You can continue the interview but we're not going to go off script. Do you understand?"

FOX 46 never agreed to any ground rules for the interview and did not agree to limit questions to what the district wanted us to ask.

"This interview is over," Frost said a few moments later.

As for Blanchard and her son, both say they support the Carroll School and its mission. However, this was a history lesson they felt went too far.

"I support the Carroll School. I support everything else about it," said Blanchard. "But I don't understand, at the end, why do you make it a point to pick cotton and sing those songs? I think it's misguided, and maybe ignorance on their part."

FOX 46 is getting results. Before the story aired, the Chief Academic and Accountability Officer for Rock Hill Schools, Dr. John Jones, called to personally apologize, Blanchard said. She said he told her the program "meant well" but pledged to work with her to make changes to the program to ensure that it is not offensive to anyone.

"Please know that we will be following up on your concerns and will communicate with you," Dr. Jones told Blanchard in an email shared with FOX 46. "I have contacted the school and have requested a copy of the field trip form."

Rock Hill Schools statement:

"The Carroll School field experience is a unique learning opportunity for all 5th grade students in Rock Hill Schools' elementary schools. As one of the only remaining Rosenwald Schools in operation, the school exists to promote understanding about our past, specifically the Great Depression and schooling in America. The students are afford an opportunity to learn directly from two local men, one of whom is a former student of The Carroll School, who lead students through a variety of hands-on activities and experiences. As part of the fifth-grade curriculum, students study the Great Depression time period, and this field trip helps students make real-life connections to this era in American history." -Mychal Frost, Director of Marketing and Communications, Rock Hill Schools.
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I lived in New York only in America. Places I have ZERO desire to go

TEXAS, MISSISSIPPI and now SOUTH CAROLINA.

Jesus Lord
 
eracism said:
Is one of the guys in overalls black? What the hell?
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This isn't the first time this school trip activity racist **** was pulled.
 
"Threats" Over Controversial Field Trip Put Rock Hill School on Lockdown
_Threats__over_controversial_field_trip__0_6811609_ver1.0_640_360.jpg


http://www.fox46charlotte.com/news/...l-field-trip-put-rock-hill-school-on-lockdown

ROCK HILL, S.C. (FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) - Ebenezer Avenue Elementary School in Rock Hill was placed on lockdown for around an hour Friday after the school received "threatening phone calls," according to the school's Facebook page.

The unnamed threat was over a controversial field trip, FOX 46 first reported Wednesday, involving students picking cotton and singing slave songs, according to a source with knowledge of the lockdown.

Jessica Blanchard called FOX 46 in a panic Friday. Her 10-year-old son's school was on lockdown. District officials say it was "preventative" after the school received "threatening phone calls" that a source also described as "harassing."


"Out of an abundance of caution, EBES is currently under a preventive lockdown due to an anonymous threat to the school," read a statement on the school's Facebook page.

It's unclear what the threat was but a source confirms it was made in response to a FOX 46 report.

The threat comes two days after Blanchard and her son, Jamari, first spoke out about the controversial field trip. Blanchard told FOX 46 she was upset the trip included picking cotton as a "game" and the singing of a slave song - not to teach slavery or Black History Month - but, rather, the Great Depression.

An hour later, the district wrote on its Facebook page that the lockdown was lifted.

"Everyone is safe and sound," a post read. "Thanks to our wonderful district staff and Rock Hill police for their help."

After FOX 46's story aired, York County Councilman William "Bump" Roddey said the field trip "comes off as offensive to the commnity."

"I think the song singing really tips the scale when it comes to the concern of what are we really embedding in our young men and women?," asked Roddey. "I wouldn't sign a petition slip if I knew my son would be picking cotton singing a slave song."

As a result of FOX 46's reort, a top district official called Blanchard to apologize and pledged to work with her to change the program.

Online Reaction Mixed

Reaction to the field trip was mixed online. Some adults, who went on the field trip as kids, had mixed opinions. Most, in hindsight, felt the trip was inappropriate.

"It was fun as a child but now looking back I wouldn't want my child doing this either," one woman wrote on Facebook. "I'm lowkey mad they had me out there doing that. Wrong AF."

"It's called education people," one person wrote on Twitter, defending the field trip. "Quit trying to hide life from your children."

"My grandfather dropped out of school and picked cotton with his family when he was 10 years old," another man wrote on Twitter, also defending the trip. "It was the Great Depression. It was a common thing. I think maybe people are looking for controversy here."

"This is teaching kids racism," disagreed someone else. "And so not right!"

"Terribly Wrong"

South Carolina State Rep. John King (D-Rock Hill) responded to FOX 46's report by calling the field trip "insensitive" and "terribly wrong."

"What happened on this field trip was insensitive and inaccurate. The true history of slavery and sharecropping is one of violence and oppression, it is a history that needs to be taught with appropriate weight. Something has gone terribly wrong when slavery is treated as a 'game,' when children leave a field trip with the impression that a mockery can be made of their ancestors' oppression. When we portray a sugar-coated version of history, one of happily picking cotton and singing songs, then we miss an opportunity to teach the truth."

District's New Statement

The Carroll School field trip experiecne is a unique learning opportunity for all 5th grade students in Rock Hill Schools' elementary schools. Students have been visiting the Carroll School for the past fifteen years as a part of studying the Great Depression in the school curriculum. Please see the attached parent field permission slip form for parents to complete in order for their child to participate.

The song that is sung by the studens as they participte in picking cotton, as it was done in the Great Depression time period, was originally written by an African-American instructor who currently works with students at the Carroll School. He did not intend it to sound like, or in any way be a "slave song" as it has been characterized. The lyrics came from his exprience as an African-American farmer picking cotton and making money for his family in the Great Depression time period.

The school district is currently working with the parent and The Carroll School instructors to review the farming activity and any associated songs during the activity to make sure that it is udnerstood that in no way is the activity or any singing tied to slavery or singing "slave songs."

Rock Hill Schools is committed to listening to its parents and community stakeholders.
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Lawmaker Calls Controversial Cotton Field Trip "Insensitive," "Terribly Wrong"


http://www.fox46charlotte.com/news/...cotton-field-trip-insensitive-terribly-wrong-

ROCK HILL, S.C. (FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) - A South Carolina lawmaker reacted to a FOX 46 report about a controversial field trip involving fifth graders picking cotton while singing slave songs, first reported by FOX 46, calling the trip "insensitive" and "terribly wrong."

"What happened on this field trip was insensitive and inaccurate," said representative John King. "The true history of slavery and sharecropping is one of violence and oppression; it is a history that needs to be taught with appropriate weight."

For the past 15 years, fifth graders attending Rock Hill Schools, have taken a class trip to the Carroll School. The historic school, built by and for African Americans during the Great Depression, is used as a teaching center.

FOX 46 obtained video of kids singing a slave song with lyrics like: "I like it when you bend your back, I like it when you fill your sack, I like it when you don't talk back, make money for me." Jessica Blanchard was outraged when she saw her 10-year-old son singing the song and picking cotton as part of a "game" to see who could do it the fastest.

York County Councilman William "Bump" Roddey told FOX that aspect of the field trip "comes off as offensive to the community" and should change.

"I think the song singing really tips the scale when it comes to the concern of what are we really embedding in our young men and women?," asked Roddey. "I wouldn't sign a petition slip if I knew my son would be picking cotton singing a slave song."

There was no discussion of slavery of Black History Month during the trip, according to Blanchard's son and the school district. The focus was on the Great Depression.

Blanchard's son said he was not told about the history of slaves forced to pick cotton.

"Something has gone terribly wrong when slavery is treated as a 'game,' when children leave a field trip with the impression that a mockery can be made of their ancestors' oppression," said King. "When we portray a sugar-coated version of history, one of happily picking cotton and singing songs, then we miss an opportunity to teach the truth."

As a result of FOX 46's story, the district reached out to Blanchard to apologize. A top district official pledged to work with her to make changes to the controversial field trip.

"If parents/students took offense, then something went wrong. There is a way to teach this subject with the respect and seriousness that it deserves," King said in a statement.
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whoever idea this was, which ppl knew about it, sign on off it, participated in it in any way, is dumb af.

Somethings need not be experienced. Which I believe is the entire ****ing point of why slavery is wrong.
 
Several Rock Hill Schools Will See New Leaders. Here’s Who is Moving and Who is New.
RH Hires2.jpg

ROCK HILL SCHOOL DISTRICT
ROCK HILL, SC

https://www.heraldonline.com/news/local/education/article231460943.html#storylink=cpy

Several Rock Hill schools will have new leaders for 2019-2020.

The Rock Hill school board approved new hires and administration changes during its Monday meeting.

PRINCIPALS
  • Jackie Jones, principal of the Montessori program at Ebenezer Avenue Elementary School, will lead Mt. Holly Holly Elementary School.
ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS
  • Kim Nordin, assistant principal at Ebenezer Avenue Elementary School, is moving to Northside Elementary School of the Arts.
  • Sheleea Leonard, assistant principal at Mt. Gallant Elementary, will now serve at Ebenezer Avenue Elementary.
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