Lammie":1bdbbk5x said:alice":1bdbbk5x said:Good for you, Kelly.
To Kill a Mockingbird would have been a much better choice for the Dallas teacher if her intent was to show how racism and the use of that word was offensive and dangerous...especially in a class with 1 black kid in it.
When I was a kid I once called my brother that word, because I thought it was the worst word I could think of...even worse than the obvious cuss words. I didn't relate it to racism at the time, heck, I didn't even know or understand racism then. I just knew it was a word that meant something demeaning and hateful. My mother heard me...and I can still taste the soap in my mouth.
Just my 2 cents.
Alice
That's cause there weren't any black folks in Stephenville? That's what I always heard. I know that Comanche was awfully racist.
I think it's an awful word, too. I was never racist as a child, but then again I didn't know any black folks, so I don't know if that qualifies me or not. You know? I just never understood why one group called another mean names.
You are right, To Kill A Mockingbird would have been a better choice to show racism. Another good book that I have read several times. And an excellent movie, as well. Love Robert Duvall as Boo Radley.
There weren't any black folks in my school. There was one black kid in my whole high school, and he moved there when I was a senior. Other than Johnny Perkins, who went to school in Granbury in the 60's and 70's and ended up playing football for the Giants for a while.
Yes, Lammie, there were black people in Stephenville when I was a kid. They lived in a particular section of town and had their own one room school and were given the outdated text books.
The schools were not integrated until I was in junior high, whereupon, one entered the eighth grade with us. I do know that before I started to school my Daddy was on the school board. He tried like crazy to integrate the school then, but it didn't work and he was voted off the school board.
So apparently, there were black people in Stephenville for a very, very long time. They just kept their heads down and their mouths shut...and for good reason. Stephenville was not a tolerant town.
I also remember when a black family tried to go to our church, and were turned away at the door. That's when I began to understand racism at its ugliest.
Alice