A Florida Teacher's Poster of Black Historical Figures Was Taken Down, So He Resigned

[Jilly_in_VA]

A Florida elementary school teacher resigned from his job this week after a co-worker removed a bulletin board he made featuring prominent Black Americans like Martin Luther King Jr. and Colin Powell alongside the Pledge of Allegiance—because it was allegedly deemed “not age-appropriate” for students.

Special education teacher Michael James, 61, sent his resignation notice to the superintendent of Escambia County Tim Smith and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Tuesday explaining his reason for leaving O.J. Semmes Elementary School in Pensacola. James, who’s white, criticized them for creating and allowing an environment in school where the celebration of Black figures in the classroom is grounds for conflict.

“Am I to believe Escambia County Schools employs those that dislike African Americans?” James wrote in his letter, according to the Pensacola News Journal, which first reported the story. “Is there a dislike in anything that states 'One Nation Under God' in it?”

A spokesman for the school district told VICE News that the incident was already under investigation.

While decorating his classroom in preparation for his first academic year at the school Monday, James told the outlet he put up a display showing at least five Black American heroes, including Harriet Tubman and George Washington Carver. Just a week into the job, the teacher said that he spent about $58 of his own money and hours of his time creating the board because O.J. Semmes is located in a predominantly Black part of the county with a predominantly Black student body, and wanted students to see important historical figures who looked like them.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/4ax3qp/florida-teacher-black-historical-figure-poster-removal

Flori-fucking-DUH!

[Solomon]

1. This makes me sick. As a black person who went to a segregated school system,

I can't imagine going through a school system in which your history is not taught to you. The irony is I grew up with an inferiority complex thinking I had an inferior education because my school system was segregated. When I got to Ivy League college, it took about a year to realize my previous education was not inferior at all and I became a straight A student. Our black teachers taught us our history really well compared to other blacks who had gone to integrated schools. They didn't get the same kind of education of black achievement as a part of their curriculum.

Shame on the official that took down the display. I can't even begin to imagine what that does to the psyche of black children knowing that the display was removed. I don't have to imagine it. I still remember the scar I felt on my soul when I learned about slavery as a young child. Thank the heavens we had teachers that taught us things we could take pride in to counter the awful feeling of learning your ancestors had been slaves and considered inferior beings.

Shame, shame shame. Doing this to the little children!

[RKP5637]

2. Florida is out of control with Gov. DeSantis and getting worse each day. And he wants to be

US president 2024.

[OrlandoDem2]

3. This is the dystopian hellscape created by DeSantis. Teachers need to get out!

And, yes, he wants to bring this to the whole nation in 2024. We must beat him in November!

[sakabatou]

4. What an awful thing to do, taking down that bulletin board

[appalachiablue]

5. K/R FL TEACHER, BLACK HST