Field trips are fun, right? It allows children to unwind from all the pressures and monotony of a classroom. Now, slavery is something that children should not experience in a field trip. However, one South Carolina school probably thought slavery and excursions are fun when they made their school kids sing slave songs and pick cotton… on a field trip.
The said field trip was hosted by Ebenezer Avenue Elementary in Rock Hill, South Carolina. There, they took their class of 10-year-olds in a supposed Black History Month field trip. The parents of the kids were surprised, however, when the trip stopped at a cotton field where the kids picked cotton and sang songs which African-American slaves sang in the past:
“I like it when you don’t talk back, make money for me,” the children can be heard. Of course, the parents were outraged at such a display by the school, apparently, it also was not mentioned in the field trip permission slip. Jessica Blanchard, one of the parents, stated, “I’m livid right now. I’m African-American and my ancestors picked cotton. Why would I want my son to pick cotton and think it’s fun?”
What’s even more outrageous is the fact that the children were also visiting the site of Carroll School– initially a school built by African-Americans in 1929. The said school was then restructured into a teaching
How could these numbskulls @RockHillSchools possibly think that teaching African-American kids to pick cotton would be a good idea? ????
— mark a kiser (@markakiser56) February 21, 2019
Still, Ebenezer Avenue Elementary defended their field trip activity, with school instructor Wali Cathcart explaining that “We need innovation in the education system. Not just lecturing children in a classroom telling them something. There’s nothing better than hands on.” Despite that, the school still had to apologize after the video became viral.
My thoughts on the Rock Hill field trip that had students pick cotton and sing a slave song https://t.co/Zw3a9WL8Xp pic.twitter.com/7ReD3MasNr
— Representative John King (@repjohnrcking) February 21, 2019
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