Posted on 04/16/2019 10:40:00 AM PDT by PBRCat
A Depression-era mural depicting white children playing outside in the winter was removed from Percy Julian Middle School in Oak Park because school officials said it failed to represent the school’s diversity.
While some said the mural was upsetting to students of color who felt it excluded them from the school, a local historian likened the removal to a “modern-day book burning.”
Cynthia Brito Millan, a coordinator for the middle school’s Social Justice Club, said the push to remove the mural began in February at a district school board meeting. Students expressed frustration about an atmosphere of exclusion for students of color — who make up 45 percent of the student body — and cited the mural as an example.
“This mural made students feel invisible because it doesn’t reflect the current student body,” Brito Millan said. “How can a student learn in a healthy environment when they don’t feel they are being seen?”
“There is nothing offensive with the mural; it just shows all white kids playing,” said Sokol, an author and Oak Park resident. “Just because it doesn’t have any black kids, doesn’t make it offensive. It doesn’t display any stereotypes at all. That’s how Oak Park looked back then. You can’t erase history.”
Barbara Bernstein, a founder of the New Deal Art Registry, said the removal of the mural is a missed opportunity for students to learn about the history around them.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicago.suntimes.com ...
Who said ISIS has been destroyed? They live on!
Deleting History one piece at a time.
What, ya couldn’t put a little shoe polish on a couple of ‘em?
I’ll bet the meetings of the “Social Justice Club” are a lot of fun.
Well, yes, they can - and do.
Removing history, one piece at a time. The Revolution is underway. And the fools just let it happen.
Why are the students dictating how they should be taught?
Racists.
Whatever the SJWs want, do something else.
They want a statue gone? Put up another.
They want a place name changed? Take back a blame already changed.
These twits COULD have added a second mural to reflect changes in the community and show that kids are kids in all ages ... instead, they’ve just got no class.
I like the South Park flag solution: just make the lunch mob multi-racial.
Why didn’t they just black-face some of the kids in the mural?
You misrepresent his sentiment.
The school should have told the kids that it does represent each and everyone of them - AMERICAN CHILDREN AT PLAY!
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
What a bunch of morons!
“You can’t erase history”
They can and they will.
Illinois and the rest of the upper midwest has preened for decades about how open and inclusive they were while sneering at the South and the Southwest for their attitudes.
So they wanted this.
Now that their kids will be the minority, their history will be obliterated and denigrated, what grounds do they have to complain? This is the Nirvana they claimed would result.
We had a huge WPA painting at my high school that was used as a backdrop for the stage. It showed very serious students holding beakers etc. and looking into a glorious future. Don’t remember if there were any black kids, but then there was only one black kid that attended when I was going there. Yes, Long Beach, California had pretty much segregated schools in the 60s. Wonder if the painting is still there.
“You can’t erase history.”
Sure you can. Stalin did it with his vanishing Commisars.
As an aside Oak Park is a Sanctuary City. I’m sure this High School would welcome 10 or 15 busloads of Diversity.
L
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.